Waning Moon
by Hazuzu
Summary: Lillie leaves for Kanto and Moon, the first Champion of Alola, has to deal with her new role and the absence of her girlfriend. What kind of Champion will she be, and can her friends support her while she waits for Lillie to return? Yuri, Moon X Lillie, MoonlilyShipping.
1. Prologue

"Moon… I-I am going t-"

The words hadn't left Moon's head since she first heard them. The fireworks lit up the sky, her friends were celebrating, Tapu Koko was watching from the skies above, all of it should have been enough to quell the worry in her mind. But it wasn't.

"It looks like Chandra had a lot of fun, too." Lillie giggled as she stroked the Mimikyu cradled in her girlfriend's arms.

"I didn't know ghosts could sleep," Moon said. "It was all that attention. She's not used to it."

"That's what being the Champion's Pokemon will get her; all the love she could hope for." Lillie stepped into Moon's bedroom and flicked on the light. "So...now it's my turn to see your room." She smiled as she took in the room.

Some devices were neatly tucked beneath the television, the desk was bar but for a globe and a Pikachu figurine, and the bookshelf stuffed with all kinds of books on Pokemon. Even the bed was made, perfect for Moon to lay her Pokemon on the pillow.

"It's like nothing's ever been out of place." Lillie traced her fingers along the wall.

"Is that bad?" Moon glanced over at Lillie and caught a reflection of herself in her mirror.

"I don't think so. It's just like you to have everything in the right places." Lillie padded over to the other girl, who had suddenly become fascinated by her own reflection. "Is something wrong?"

"My hair." Moon frowned at herself and tugged at some of her inky black locks. She held it up, let it catch the light, and saw the shock of white. "My hair is white. That's...that's not meant to happen."

"Maybe it's from...that place."

"Ultra Space." Moon breathed.

"Y-Yeah." Lillie nodded. "Wicke said there might be side effects from people going in there, right? You're too young to be going gray."

Moon stared at the hair in her hand. It was as white as any snow she'd ever seen.

"What if my whole hair turns white? People will think I'm dying it. To get attention. Or that...I'm weird." Moon felt a hand on her shoulder. It turned her to face Lillie, then up into her beautiful green eyes. Champion or not, she couldn't help but blush. "What?"

"Y-You're pretty." Lillie lifted her slender fingers to stroke through Moon's hair. "You're pretty with black hair and with white hair and no hair, probably! Even if it goes all white, that's not a bad thing. It's..." Her eyes lit up. "Your very own z-powered form!"

"You think so?" Moon laughed softly. A part of her wanted to call the idea lame, but she knew how much Lillie's transformation had helped her. "I guess...I can try it."

"And you'll be an even better champion if you look cool." Lillie nodded. "That's a fact."

"Yeah." Moon's stomach twisted at the thought. "As long as you're with me, I can be Champion of anywhere."

Lillie's smile fell. Moon saw it just before she was kissed, a little peck on the lips that made her heart soar and her knees weak. The taste of coconut lip balm lingered when it ended.

"C-Can we sit down?" Lillie asked.

"Okay." Moon sat down on the bed, softly so as not to disturb Chandra and Lillie sat right beside her. Their shoulders bumped with the shifting weight and she wanted to cuddle her right then and there. She didn't want to speak. She knew what a nervous Lillie looked like, from how she touched her toes together, how she tugged at her ear, and she had to be strong for her.

"I'm going to Kanto!" Lillie blurted out. Silence hung between them and Moon had to take a moment just to be sure of what she'd heard.

"Wh-"

"I want to be strong! Like you, and like Hau, and like Gladion...and everyone else." Lillie's lip quivered as her resolve faded. "There are trainers and Pokemon there so that I can be brave...a-and like you...and make my mom better..." There were tears in the corners of her eyes. They mirrored Moon's own. "I-I've already got the tickets and I'm going tomorrow and I want to tell you so you're not hurt but you're going to be sad a-anyway but I've got to..."

Moon felt like her heart was going to burst. Her journey had been spent building bonds with her Pokemon, with the people she'd met, and most importantly of all, Lillie. She wouldn't even be able to talk to people if it weren't for Lillie, with her soft words and her kindness and all of the bravery she already had. They'd gone through everything together, from Iki Town to Ultra Space, and the idea of her leaving hurt worse than anything she could think of.

But that was the thing, Moon thought, as she took Lillie's hand in hers and laced their fingers together. If it was going to hurt her, it was already hurting Lillie. Maybe even worse, because it was her choice to go. She lifted up Lillie's chin with her other hand, saw the tears streaming down her face and the breaths coming out ragged. And she'd be scared, facing a whole new world. The last thing she needed was her girlfriend to judge her as well.

It was going to hurt, Moon knew that. But before Alola, she'd gotten used to that. Her days were spent reading, her nights dreaming of Pokemon, without even a single friend to her name. If she had to bury her hurt to make sure Lillie would be happy...she'd gladly take up the shovel.

Moon blinked away her tears and used her thumb to wipe away Lillie's, then kissed away what few tears remained. Finally, she pecked Lillie's lips and looked her in the eye.

"I will be okay." Moon lied. "I promise. We can call each other. And talk. And I can give Pokemon advice. It's what I'm best at. And we can go on all the dates we want when you get back." The smile that broke out on Lillie's face was brighter than any sunrise Moon had ever seen.

"R-Really?" Lillie whispered. Moon squeezed her hand.

"Really."

"I...th-thank you, Moon." There were still tears in Lillie's eyes, but they didn't seem to matter. "We will do that. H-Hundreds of them! A-And we'll get married!"

"I'm not wearing a dress." Moon said, stubbornly. "No way, no how."

"I know…" Lillie brushed her thumb across the back of Moon's hand. It left a trail of tingles in its wake. "You said that last time. So...we'll get you a suit, like a boy. And I'll wear a dress. Deal?"

"...deal." Moon nodded, and they shared a little giggle. "But...pajamas first."

"Right!" Lillie said, glancing around. "Your mom brought up my bag." She said, as she pulled the backpack onto her lap.

"I'll sleep on the floor." Moon offered.

"Wh-What? No way!" Lillie shook her head. "We can't cuddle if you're on the floor." A pale blush spread across her cheeks.

"But I'll feel like a little girl if I'm cuddled in bed." Moon complained. "I'm the Champion of Alola!"

"I'm not your mom and you're not mine, so it's not like that at all." Lillie put a hand on her hip while the other pulled out her Clefairy pajama bottoms. "Couples cuddle, so get in the bed, Moon!"

Moon knew not to argue. She'd heard that tone before.


	2. Chapter 1

The air buzzed. Moon couldn't see anything but the crowds of people that had filled the Champion's throne room. Faces familiar and unknown had swarmed over the boundaries, into the arena where her future battles would be held, a hundred questions bubbling out of their mouths and their eyes all on her.

So many eyes. Every one of them was crawling over her, under her clothes, under the tattered yellow yukata she'd had since she was little. Where were her clothes? Was the throne always this uncomfortable? She shifted in her seat, and it fell out from beneath her. The crowd surged forward, the buzzing getting louder, the stares prickling her skin, th-

"Wakey wakey, Master!"

Moon's eyes shot open. A familiar ceiling, familiar walls, and a familiar bright red device floating above her.

"Morning," Moon grumbled at the Rotomdex and pulled herself up, her pajamas sticking to her skin and her bed much less smooth than she remembered. She looked down to see the great slender body of Primarina, and it all came flooding back to her. The Pokemon was rising as she was, throwing back his soft blue mane with the kind of grace that would have made a lesser girl jealous. "Thanks for helping me sleep, Gwyndolin." She smiled as she ran a hand through the fin around his neck.

Gwyndolin let out a soft cry and leaned into his master's pets, just as the Rotomdex cleared their throat.

"What is it, Doll?" Moon stood up with Gwyndolin's help and tugged at her sweat-slick pajamas.

"Where are my thanks? I woke you up. I deserve that much, no, twice that much praise!" Doll huffed. A pair of angry eyebrows suddenly appeared on their screen.

Moon stared for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks for waking me up. What time is it?" She asked, as she unbuttoned her pajamas.

"Seven in the morning, right on the dot!"

"Urgh." Moon placed them in the hamper, then crawled onto the desk beside her windows and threw them open.

"You won't stay Champion with that attitude!" Doll said, then watched as Gwyndolin shot a spout of water at his trainer. Most of it went out of the window, but she was dripping wet as she stepped back onto her floor. "Master...we're at home now."

"Yeah?" Moon grabbed the belt of Pokeballs from her desk and pulled out a pink and purple Pokeball. There was a flash of white light, and suddenly a black serpent was stood beside her. It took all of two seconds for the Salazzle to look at the soaking-wet Moon and sink to the ground, unleashing a steady flow of heat that dried the trainer within seconds.

"There's a real shower here!"

"Yeah." Moon shrugged as she walked up to her closet. The Salazzle slunk beside her, rearing up beside the mirror so she could stroke her slender head. "Thanks, Sinh. What do you think of my hair?"

Sinh watched Moon turn her head to the side. There was a streak of white, from the bottom of her bob to the temple of one side. She hissed as little purple plumes of smoke shot out of her mouth.

"Thanks for being honest." Moon flashed a smile, then grabbed a hairband and tied it back into a ponytail. It wasn't the best look, but at least she wouldn't look like so much of a doofus. She let Sinh help her pick her outfit, which meant purple everything, then turned on her heel to find Doll floating in her face again.

"Your mom said only one Pokemon in the house at a time!" Doll pointed at Gwyndolin, who was happily lounging in the morning sun, and Sinh, who was sat carefree beside her master.

"She did?" Moon blinked. "Okay. Gwyndolin, we're gonna put you away for a little while." She said to the Pokemon, who let out a little noise of complaint before sliding his way over and flipping into the air just as the Pokeball called him back. "You too, Doll."

"Wh-What?!" Doll's eyes took up most of their screen.

"You're a Pokemon too. I've got a nice Pokeball picked out..." Moon fingered the pouch on her waist.

"I-I don't count! I've got this!" Doll gestured at themself with their stubby red arms. "I'm in the Pokedex! I'm already away!"

"What do you think?" Moon looked to Sinh, who shook her head. "Doesn't count. But I might keep you out of a Pokeball if you're quiet while Sinh's out. Deal?"

A zip went across Doll's screen, and they hopped over to clip themselves onto Moon's belt. Sinh let out an amused snort as she followed Moon into the bathroom to finish her morning routine. They were soon headed through the door to a room filled with the scent of fresh breakfast and a radio softly playing music.

"Good morning, Moon!" Mom beamed from behind the kitchen counter. "Today's breakfast is loco moco. Is your tummy ready for a taste of Alola?"

"Yeah." Moon planted herself in one of the chairs at the breakfast table, while Sinh crawled over to the kitchen itself and underneath the barrier.

"It's just that I know you struggled when we first came...but, what am I saying? A Champion must have a Champion's stomach." Mom laughed, as a clawed hand made for some of the eggs and was smacked away with a wooden spoon. Moon had to admire the fact that her mom could spot a thieving hand without even looking, but more impressive was that she'd punish it up to a Gyarados just as soon as a Meowth. "Have you heard from Lillie?"

Moon shook her head and sighed. "She'll be asleep."

"Well, I'm sure she'll call when she's awake." Mom smiled. "She has every other day, hasn't she?"

"Yeah..." Moon suddenly felt the urge to talk about anything else.

"What about that Champion's event Professor Kukui is planning?" Mom asked, as she laid the breakfast out on a plate and swiveled around the kitchen counter to approach the table. Sinh was hot on her heels. "When is that?"

Anything else but that.

"Kukui says I have a month. Thanks." Moon managed to smile as the plate was put before her, along with a glass of juice. "To get ready. To get dressed. Things."

"That's plenty of time, isn't it?" Mom asked.

"Yeah." Moon frowned as she stuck her fork into her breakfast. "Maybe."

"It's perfectly normal to be nervous." Mom assured her, as she stepped back into the kitchen and started to serve her own breakfast. "Anyone would be, especially at your age."

"I'm the Champion. I shouldn't be nervous. I should be..." Moon grasped for an ending to that sentence. "Cool."

"And that, I think, is more than enough for anyone to respect you." Mom said. "Even if you mess up every line, even if you show up in your comfy yukata and have malasada crumbs all over your face. Nobody expects you to show up and act like an adult except for you."

"But I want to." Moon said, as she swallowed another mouthful of breakfast. It was just hot enough to be pleasant in the humid Alolan morning. "I'm the first in Alola. And I'm not Alolan. It'll look like I'm not taking it seriously."

"Moon, you are an extraordinary young woman." Mom spoke softly as she joined her daughter at the table. "You care for six Pokemon, all wildly different, better than most people can raise even one. You have trained them better than anyone else in Alola – and beaten everyone else here, too. You have defeated every trial – regular and capital T trials – put before you. You disbanded a gang that has been hassling people for years, uncovered a corporate conspiracy, and, while I'm not entirely sure what happened there, explored other dimensions and befriended the guardian deities."

Moon knew all of that. It was hard to take it all in, when she tried to think back. It had just been her day-to-day life, one step after another, and by the end of it she'd had a mountain of accomplishments to stand on. But she still felt like a little girl. And all of that was done with Lillie at her side. But she couldn't find the words to explain it to her mom, so she just said...

"So?"

Mom laughed. "So, if you're not a prodigy at public speaking, nobody will mind. They might even find it reassuring. Finally, one thing that Moon isn't better than me at!"

"That...makes sense." Moon had to admit that much. "But...still..."

Mom reached across the table and put her hand on Moon's. "I think I know what you should do."

Moon looked down at their hands, then into her mom's eyes.

"You should think of this as a battle. That's what you're best at, isn't it? When you decided you were going to be a trainer, you didn't mope about how hard it was going to be. You read. You found Pokemon to spend time with. You watched the best trainers, the best matches, you practiced on those consoles I bought you. You planned, and worked, and trained your little butt off all the way to the top of the Pokemon League. You needed friends as much as anyone does, but your achievements are yours, Moon. And if you want to put it to use, your brilliance can solve this problem just like it solved all the others."

Moon could feel her heart pounding in her chest. With the way her mom said it, she could almost believe it. She could find people who were good at performing. She could find people who knew how to deal with crowds. She could find out how to come out on top – crowds were just another type of Pokemon, and she had to figure out its weakness.

"O-Okay." Moon's eyes turned sharp with determination. "I'll do it. I'll be the best Champion there's ever been!"

"Now that's the look anyone can believe in." Mom grinned at her. "Hang on." She licked her thumb and wiped a small dash of gravy off Moon's lip. "Okay, now it is! Go get 'em, Champ!"


	3. Chapter 2

"Easy, Hemwick." Moon urged the mighty Mudsdale between her thighs. She hesitated, her hoof in the air, then lightly tapped one of the many Pyukumuku that had gathered on the beach overnight. It soon hit the water, skipping across it like an even stone until the ripples got smaller and it finally fell beneath the waves with a plop.

The sun was still low, the beach uninhabited, which meant she had time to herself and plenty of space to put her Pokemon through the paces. A Champion never stops training, Professor Kukui had said. There was a bit of rambling and a few more "yeahs", but that was the gist of his advice. The problem was going to be finding somebody good enough to keep her in practice, beyond just making sure her Pokemon were still in good shape.

"Hey!" Came a voice from the pier beside the beach. Moon looked up from her ruminations and spotted a familiar face leaning over the railing. "I know that face! What's going on, Moon?" He waved vigorously at her.

"Walking. Waiting for Ilima to wake up." Moon called back. Her voice couldn't quite pierce the heavens as well as his.

"Huh? Hang on!" Hau yelled back, then flung himself over the railing to land on a particularly plump pile of sand. A few Pyukumuku rolled away with the grainy cloud that rose as he fell, and he hopped right over them to cross the distance and look up at his friend. "I couldn't hear ya! You've got to start speaking up, now that you're Champion. Bulk up that outside voice!"

"How?" Moon asked softly It didn't seem like people could stop reminding her of her role, not that she could blame Hau for that. He was just being kind, like always.

"Breathe in reel deep," Hau brought his arms up to his chest to demonstrate. "THEN LET IT ALL OUT!"

"Oh, that's how." Moon giggled. "I'll keep it in mind. I'm giving Hemwick some training. Then, we're meeting Ilima."

"Don't let me stop ya!" Hau said, then followed right beside Hemwick as Moon started to lead her down the shore, where more Pyukumuku waited to be kicked back to their watery home. "Meeting Ilima, huh? To cover up that, uh..."

Moon glanced down at him. "What?"

Hau tapped the side of his head. "Your hair."

"There's nothing wrong with my hair. It's just whiter than normal."

"Okay, but people might start to think you're copying Guzma." Hau said, his smile as bright as ever despite the struggle to keep pace with Hemwick.

"As if!" Moon shook her head. "I'd shave it all off first."

"I'd like to see that!" Hau laughed. "I bet Lillie would, too." He said, and Moon glanced over at the pier again. It was all so fresh, the memory of Lillie leaving, actually seeing her disappear into the horizon, the taste of the ice cream she and Hau had gotten after. Rawst Berry Ripple had never been so bitter.

"I guess."

Hau followed Moon's gaze and nodded. "I miss her too, Moon. She'll back before you know it."

"I hope so." Moon wanted to be a little more bitter. She wanted to question Hau, but he didn't deserve it, and Lillie didn't help her with her manners just so she could stop using them when she was gone.

"Maybe she can even challenge you when she gets back." Hau scratched the back of his head. "If she can beat Kanto, she might be able to stand a chance against you. Better than mine, anyway." He laughed again.

"Don't say that." Moon frowned. "You're a good trainer. I know it and Hala knows it and you know it."

"Yeah, okay." Hau smiled. "I guess I have to listen if the Champion says so. I might get beat up if I don't."

"That's right." Moon smiled back. "I'll beat you up so bad your Inceneroar will turn back into Litten."

"Speaking of him..." Hau pointed up at the pier again. Moon looked up just in time to see the bulky cat sprinting across it, a big bundle held in his brawny arms and hungry eyes darting about the place. "HEY! OVER HERE!" Hau called out, waving both of his arms in the air. The Pokemon leaped down to the beach and darted over to them, while Hemwick slowed herself to a pause. "Nice one, Liger!" He beamed, as he opened the package in the Pokemon's arms to reveal no fewer than a dozen malasadas.

"Why does Liger have malasadas?" Moon asked, as the hot sugary scent overpowered the salty sea.

"The lady there gives us an extra one if he goes in and pays politely." Hau said, after swallowing a hunk of the fried dough and passing one of them to the buff cat. It was devoured without a second thought, accompanied by a light purr.

"Thirteen malasadas, Hau? That's insane."

"Nu-uh!" Hau shook his head. "One of them's for you, see!" He said, then looked at Liger. The Incinceroar looked between the two, then reluctantly held one out for Moon to take.

"No thanks. I just ate." Moon shook her head. She was pretty sure that Hau didn't even know she was going to show up on the beach. "What are you out here for?"

"Breakfast!" Hau grabbed another of the tasty treats with his sticky fingers. "And then we're going to meet grandpa for some training. I can't be a Kahuna overnight, he says."

Moon nodded slowly and gave Hau a chance to sate his imminent appetite before talking again. "How would Ilima help me with my hair, again?"

"Oh," Hau said. "He's just got good hair, you know? He gave me some tips about mine." He shook his head, letting his luscious green locks flow in the breeze. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah." Moon smirked. "I'm not going to him for that."

"Then what?"

"Ilima's always calm. And composed. And he teaches classes. I've got to give a speech at a League event. So...I'm going to ask him to help." Moon admitted. She wouldn't have shared it with just anyone, but Hau was one of her friends. He wouldn't go blabbing.

"Good idea! I'll tell you if Gramps has anything to say, too. Talking to folks is a big part of being Kahuna."

"Okay. Cool." Moon looked up at the sidewalk, where people were beginning to gather for a morning on the beach. "I think Ilima's up now. Do you mind if I go?"

"What? Nah, go do it!" Hau stepped towards the stairs, and suddenly stopped. "I...I think I'll stay here for a while." He placed a hand on his gut. "I think I should have stopped at a dozen..."


	4. Chapter 3

The ride to Ilima's house was filled with the kind of awkwardness that Moon had come to expect. People knew what she looked like, they knew what her status was, and that meant everyone she passed had their eyes set right on her. Some gave her a little wave, or a greeting of "Alola!", and one part of her felt it was nice to be respected.

All the other parts wanted to shy away from them and find a tree to hide under or a Pokemon to train. But she couldn't do that any more, especially not with the kids on their way to Trainer's School. When she'd started thinking of them as kids, despite not being much older, she didn't know, but they were. And they'd have been disappointed if she just went on her way without so much as a smile.

So she smiled, nodded her head, and went on her way. Her neck muscles were probably going to be as strong as her legs before she was a month into her reign.

Eventually, the grey roads gave way to Ilima's house. It was by far the nicest building in all of Hao'uli city, at least, in her opinion. Even aside from all the luxurious things within and its sleek gray architecture, the hedge walls gave him some privacy and he had a swimming pool. Something about having a pool, when he lived right beside the beach, tickled Moon.

She grabbed a hold of Hemwick's mane with one hand and balanced herself with the other for a quick hop off of the mighty Pokemon. Just as her feet hit the ground, she heard clapping just beyond the gate.

"An excellent dismount." Ilima was stood there, lowering his hands to open the gate. He looked as pretty as he ever did, which was said made him the envy of the girls in the Trainer's School. "I take it Hapu taught you her technique?"

"She did." Moon fed a Pokepuff to Hemwick for her service, then bowed her head to the boy. "Good morning, Captain Ilima."

"You don't have to do that for me." Ilima smiled softly as he stepped through the gate. "Not before, and certainly not know. In fact – do boys bow in Kanto?"

"Yeah. All the time."

"Then good morning, Champion Moon." Ilima bowed to Moon and stood upright. "I'm on my way to the Trainer's School. You're welcome to join me, if you'd like." He said, and he was already walking. Moon glanced to see if Hemwick was done with her Poke Puff before recalling her to her Pokeball and hurrying back to Ilima's side.

"You don't have to bow to me either." Moon said. "I don't even know why I did it."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were nervous." Ilima said with a smile, as they stepped onto the sidewalk. "But Champions never get nervous, do they?"

"Uh. No?"

"And I suppose they never lie, either." Ilima said. "What's troubling you, Moon?"

"I've got to give a speech in a month." Moon said it quietly. There were still people around, and walking with the local Trial Captain wasn't going to make her less conspicuous. "I haven't done that before. So. It will suck, unless I get good at it."

"That's perfectly normal. How are you planning to get good at it?" Ilima cocked an eyebrow at her.

"By asking you." Moon said.

"What makes you think that I will be able to help? You had just as many difficulties talking to me, as I recall," Ilima mused as he tapped a finger to his chin. "Until it came time to take on the trial. I'd say there was more fire in you then than in the Wela Volcano. Have you considered beating up the crowd?"

"Tha..." Moon frowned. "Are you teasing me?"

"Perhaps a little." Ilima laughed.

Moon stuck a spiteful tongue out at Ilima. "You're a Trial Captain. And you help at the school. And you're always...composed." She said. "And you're not too old. So you've got to have some good advice."

"I see your point, and I'll be happy to help." Ilima said, and Moon felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "I can't say that I have all the experience you need, but I can give you some tips. And perhaps somewhere to start. Would you like to help me at the Trainer's School today?"

"The Trainer's School?" Moon looked down the street, where the building had just started to come into view. "I don't know..."

"They're not going to be so scary as a crowd full of adults, and to them, you're the coolest person in all of Alola. They'll forgive your missteps and lap up whatever you say next. And if it still goes poorly...well, we can cheer them up with a Pokemon battle. I'm assuming you've not lost any confidence there."

"Nope." Moon shook her head. "Is it a good idea?"

"I can't see why it wouldn't be. As long as we stick to some simple strategies, they might even be able to learn something new. Keeping their interest is the most important part in teaching, and what's more interesting than the Champion?"

Moon watched her shoes as she considered it. Everything Ilima said was true, and he wasn't the type to trick her into doing something stupid. There was still the chance of something going wrong...but there was also a chance of her getting torn apart by inter-dimensional travel, and that hadn't topped her before.

"Okay. Let's do it." Moon smiled.

"Wonderful!" Ilima returned it with gusto. "Have you any plans to talk with someone else about this problem?"

"Not yet. I only decided to do it at breakfast." Moon shrugged. "Who do you think?"

"Professor Kukui is ideal." Ilima said. "He has confidence enough to fill a canyon."

Moon's mind flashed back to Professor Kukui standing at the top of a snow-covered mountain, bare-chested but for his lab coat flapping in the wind.

"Yeah, true." She nodded.

"And seeing as the Pokemon League was his idea, he'll be more than happy to put his research on hold. I've no doubt about it."

"Okay. Got it." Moon paused as they arrived outside the Trainer's School. "Is there anyone else?"

"Let me see..." Ilima tapped his chin. "Mina is confident in her own way, but I don't think she's good at speeches. Kiawe is good at performing, but that's mostly in dances. Perhaps Olivia, although she may make you take her out on a date before she'll give you advice."

Moon blinked. "What? I'm just a kid!"

"According to her, it still counts."


	5. Chapter 4

"Good morning, everyone. I hope you're all ready for a wonderful day of learning about the world of Pokemon."

Moon was peering at Ilima through the glass door. He'd just strolled right in, like he was a teacher, and started talking to the kids. He didn't even have to have a plan, and he was standing there talking as easily as he had to her. From her brief visit before, she remembered that there were no fewer than six kids in that classroom. But they were just kids. They couldn't hurt her. Not unless she let them.

"...and today, I've got a special surprise for you. A special guest!" Ilima's voice snapped Moon out of her reverie. "She's the most talented trainer in all of Alola. Not two weeks ago, she was crowned our first Pokemo League Champion." There were gasps from among the children. "That's right – Moon! Enter, if you would." He gestured towards the door.

Moon fumbled with the handle and took a deep breath, then walked inside with steady steps. A quick glance to the side revealed all of the children there – not much younger than her, all clad in green and white uniforms. They seemed as surprised to see her as she was them, though their smiles were the opposite of what she was feeling.

She got to the front of the classroom, beside Ilima, and instinct took over. She bowed.

"Welcome to the Trainer's School, Champion Moon." Ilima smiled at her. "Our Champion is originally from the Kanto region, and bowing is their traditional greeting. Why don't we show her some Alolan courtesy, hm?"

Moon watched as all of the lasses and youngsters brought their hands together with a cry of "Alola!". It shouldn't have been as nerve-wracking as it was. She'd walked into Po Town with nothing but a belt full of Pokeballs and ousted Team Skull! Children shouldn't have scared her.

Maybe it was just because she didn't want to beat up the children like she had Team Skull.

"Let's start with something simple – I know you must be excited to ask the Champion some questions, so we'll take a few, and then we can start learning." Ilima said. "Raise your hand if you have a question." He paused, every hand went up, and he pointed to one of the students in the first row. "Yes, go ahead."

"What's the best Pokemon?" Asked the scruffy-haired girl.

"There's no such thing." Moon said, flatly. This was one area where she was confident. "All Pokemon are different and they're better at different stuff. Yeah, a Rattata is weaker than a Raticate. But if you give a Raticate to a beginner, they're gonna get bitten. Everything else is just roles. Sometimes you want Fire, sometimes you want strength, sometimes defense, sometimes the ability to float, or go first, or whatever."

She looked out over the students. They weren't insulting her or throwing things, so it can't have been that bad.

"What an interesting answer." Ilima said. "But outside of their use in battle, what would you say is your favorite Pokemon?"

"Uh." Moon looked down at her shoes, then forced herself to look back up. "None. It's like asking me who's my favorite person." Lillie. "Or, uh. Favorite friend. I love all my Pokemon. I like how Sinh is confident no matter how many times you catch her being sneaky. I like how Chandra gets so stubborn when she's facing bigger Pokemon. I like it when Gwyndolin knows when something's upsetting me, how Bouncee makes sure everyone's as confident as she is, Hemwick is calm no matter what's going on, how you don't even know Ornstein is there unless she wants you to know it..."

And then there was Nebby, but she didn't want to go into the details of how she came to befriend a Legendary Pokemon, or any of the others. And she was oversharing already, or she thought she might be. The kids probably didn't want to know about how much she liked her Pokemon.

"That is exactly the kind of attitude that makes Moon a Champion." Ilima informed his students, who had been watching with fascinated eyes. "Learning how to fight alongside your Pokemon is important, but so is caring for them, getting to know them, and forming a bond. There has never been a Champion, Kahuna, or Trial Captain who treated their Pokemon like tools. Now, Lobo" He pointed to the next student with a hand up.

"Where are you from in Kanto, Champion Moon? Was there a school there?" Asked the dark-eyed boy.

"Fuchsia City. No." Moon said. Silence hung in the air, and she looked over to Ilima.

"Perhaps you could tell us more about Fuchsia city." Ilima said.

"Oh. Yeah. It's okay." Moon shrugged. "There's a...Trial Captain there, she uses Poison-type Pokemon. I learned some stuff about battling watching her, when I left the house. And there's a zoo with all kinds of Pokemon, I went there a lot. And a Safari Zone, my mom took me there, where you can catch Pokemon without having any. I always had to release the, but it was good practice. And...it was good for learning about Pokemon. I like Alola more."

Another hand was pointed to and a gracefully-styled girl asked the next question. "My friend in Sinnoh came to visit and she said it's really hot here, I don't think it's hot, but do you think it's hot?"

"Yeah. But not a lot worse. The Summers in Kanto are hot and humid. It's like a really long Summer." Moon answered. Another question followed, then another, until she stopped worrying about just what she was going to say or how she was going to say it. It was getting easier even as she was doing it, and she was almost comfortable. Eventually, there were no more hands up.

"Well, that seems to be everyone." Ilima clapped his hands together.

"Not so fast, cousin!" A raised hand suddenly appeared through the window, followed by the rest of its owner. He was a particularly large student; adult-sized, in fact. He even had a goatee, which was unusual for the age of the class. One might not even have taken him for a student, were it not for the green shorts that clung to his muscular thighs and the t-shirt that seemed to be struggling to contain his perfectly-sculpted torso. Some of the stitches were close to bursting.

"Of course. How could I forget?" Ilima seemed to be holding himself back from laughing. "Forgive me, student, but I seem to have forgotten your name."

"No problem!" The supposed student said. "The name's...Pro! Yeah! That's right, I'm Pro and my question is: How come this Champion is standing here answerin' questions instead of battling?"

"I can battle." Moon smirked. "I'll take you on. Right now."

"Woo! You're on! Before we battle, there are four rules! One, three Pokemon each! Two, no items! Three, no leaving the arena! Four, you've got to have fun, because that's what battling's all about, yeah!"

"Very well." Ilima put a hand on his hip. "Students, how would you like to see your fellow classmate Pro take on the Champion?" He asked, to a chorus of cheers. "Then, you have my blessing."

"I'll see you," Pro pointed at Moon. "On the battlefield!" He said, then leaned down to clamber through the window again.

Moon walked out of the door.


	6. Chapter 5

The arena outside of the Trainer's School was blessed by a cool morning breeze. All of the classes had poured out to watch the battle between the Champion and a man who was supposedly one of their own classmates. They had gathered outside of the sandy boundaries, as close as Ilima and the teachers would let them be, and stood chattering among each other as the two challengers stepped up to their places.

"I hope you're ready, cousin, 'cause I'm going to bring it to you like a freight train, yeah!" Pro said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out three Pokeballs clasped between his fingers. "You might only see three, but look closer and you'll see four! Can't see? The fourth...is me!"

"I see a guy who doesn't know what he's getting into." Moon smirked at her opponent as she uncovered a portion of her belt and unveiled three Pokeballs. One was striped green, one black and gold, and the last black trimmed with red. "And the three ways he's gonna get his butt kicked." She was willing to play along...and talking trash was something she'd actually gotten better at.

"Trainers, are you ready?" Ilima held his hand in the air.

"Ready!" Pro declared.

"Yeah." Moon nodded.

"Three," Ilima began, and the students counted down with him. "Two," Moon's hand hovered over her Pokeballs. "One," Pro rolled two into his palm. "Battle!"

Pro tossed his Pokeball into the air, where it split apart with a burst of light and out of the flash stalked a Lycanroc. Its umber fur almost blended into the sand, which its paws barely disturbed. At the same time, Moon held out her Ultra Ball. It split apart in her hand, and out of the beam came a Pikachu that darted to and fro with barely-contained excitement. Gasps could be heard from the audience.

"Lycanroc, let's get dangerous!" Pro called out.

"Chandra, suit up." Moon instructed her Pokemon coolly.

The Lycanroc darted across the battlefield, shifting this way and that around the sitting Pikachu. Wherever its paws touched, stones turned out of the stand, shifting this way and that, until an entire half of the arena had been covered in them by the time it retreated. The Pikachu just sat there, watching the opposing Pokemon with a tilted head.

"Mister Ilima! Look!" One of the children pointed at the Pikachu, but his eyes were drawn to the shadow. It didn't sit like it ought to – instead, inky shadows circled the Pikachu, with three protrusions each in the shape of a sword. "What's it doing?"

"I believe Pro has figured it out." Ilima nodded over to the man.

"Nice job, buddy!" Pro called back his Lycanroc and tossed out another Pokeball before he'd even finished his sentence. "Time to put a stop to that rolling stone!" He said, as the Pikachu shifted between the levitating stones.

"Let's play." Moon folded her arms over her chest. Pro's Pokemon entered the battlefield, a Braviary with an underbelly as dark as the night and wings that blazed in the sun. It had barely emerged when Chandra leaped into the air and smacked it about the beak. It twisted its head around, only for the Pikachu to slip underneath and kick it in the gut. The jabs kept coming and coming, driving the Pokemon to the ground in a cloud of smoke.

"What's going on?!" One of the kids asked, just as Chandra was finally buffeted back by a great wing and skidded back onto her feet.

"Braviary, send that fake back where it came from, yeah!" Pro pointed right at the Pikachu as his Pokemon pushed itself back into the air. Wind whipped against the sand as its wings flapped, ruffling the air of the students and scattering sand over their shoes.

"Too late." Moon said, and there was a collective squeal from the students as they noticed the great shadow that had slipped out from beneath Chandra. It was a sliver of darkness that pooled beneath the battered bird, then suddenly spiked up and slammed right into its chest. There was a squawk, and then a fall, as the shadow retreated and the Braviary crashed to the ground for the final time.

"B-But Pikachu can't do that!" One cap-wearing boy declared.

"Well spotted." Ilima nodded. "The Champion wouldn't be the Champion if she weren't cunning. Her Pikachu has empowered itself and taken down one of her challengers without even a scratch. Pro was trying to put a stop to her before it got too powerful, but it seems she was expecting that."

"So that's how it is, huh, cousin?" Pro shook his head as he recalled his Braviary. "Well, we're not done yet!" He tossed another Pokeball into the air and Lycanroc re-emerged, its head low to the ground while it watched its oddly-still opponent. "Not even shadows can out-speed my buddy, yeah! Hit it!"

Attentive eyes among the crowd watched as Pikachu's shadow extended towards the wolf, but it was too quick. Every step was met with a little push back from the ground, pushing it faster and faster until it wrapped its jaws around the Pikachu's ears and tugged as hard as it could.

The illusion shattered as a cloth ear came out in the Lycanroc's jaws. In the Pikachu's place was a shape draped in yellow cloth, with a scribbled-on face, a tail made out of a stick, and a pair of eye-holes cut low into its body. The Lycanroc tossed the cloth ear to the side with a growl, then yelped as the shadow that had been chasing it finally caught up.

The students were yelling, in shock at the reveal or in excitement as the shadow knocked the Lycanroc high into the air. It had to contort itself just to land on it paws, but it was left breathing heavily, its legs slower on the ground.

"It's a Mimikyu." Ilima explained to his students. "It's a Pokemon that can disguise itself toavoid damage, as long as the opponent doesn't know the disguise is there. But one good hit, and it's revealed."

Moon narrowed her eyes at her foe. "You still haven't scratched us." She said. "We'll be ready." She said, as Chanda's shadow once more rippled.

"Nice try, cousin, but I know that trick!" Pro called out. "Lycanroc, edge it out!" He pointed his finger extra hard, and the Lycanroc rocketed across the ground. Its maw dipped into the sand, lower and lower until it retrieved a great stone spike. Chandra's shadow had just turned into a trio of swords when the stone spiked through its ghostly form and Lycanroc barreled right past it.

Chandra lingered for a moment, swayed this way and that, then collapsed where she stood. Moon gritted her teeth. "Lucky hit." She said, as the Mimikyu was pulled back into its Pokeball.

"What happened?!" Another kid asked.

"The Champion thought Pro would keep going for his fastest attacks, to avoid getting hit with another Shadow Strike, which wouldn't have been enough to take out her Mimikyu. Chandra was going to power up her moves again, but he saw it coming and uses Lycanroc's strongest move instead." Ilima explained. "Prediction is half of the battle when it comes to talented trainers."

"You're gonna pay for that." Moon promised softly, as she pulled out the Luxury Ball. It rattled as a burst of light emerged from it, growing bigger and bigger before finally releasing the massive Mudsdale that had been held within. The floating rocks barely bothered Hemwick, as she landed with a thud and let them scrape off of her thick hide.

"Woo! Now we're getting to show off our moves!" Pro laughed and put his hands on his hips.

"Hemwick, shatter that rock." Moon instructed her Pokemon. Hemwick reared up on her back legs, just as Pro called back his Lycanroc and another emerged in its place. Its coat was a crystalline white, with specks of blue that flowered with its gorgeous tail. Pro's confident smile fell from his face as a spout of rocks shot out from where Hemwick had slammed her hooves, soared into the air, and crashed into his just-released Ninetales.

The fox Pokemon whimpered and whined beneath the burial of rocks, but slipped her way out of it with a wince.

"So...you saw that coming, huh, cousin?" Pro shook his head.

"You wouldn't bring out Magnezone for Hemwick or keep Lycanroc in. Rock Slide hits all your options." Moon shrugged.

"All that predictin' must make you tired." Pro declared, as the pacing Hemwick's eyes were suddenly caught by the slinking Ninetales'. They became heavier and heavier until finally, they closed, leaving Hemwick standing where she stood.

Moon inhaled sharply.

"You're looking heated, cousin! Let's cool you down, yeah!" Pro called out, and a chill filled the air as Ninetales pranced around her side of the battlefield. Her tail swished behind her, again and again, until it formed a veritable snowstorm that she batted in the other direction with a waft of her nine tails.

Hemwick slept even as the snowstorm batted at her, weakened her knees, and brought her head lower to the ground. She barely managed to stumble to stay upright, despite her groggy state.

"Woo! Time to send this horse back to the stable!" Pro grinned. "And quick!" By the time he'd said it, Ninetales had let out a cry at the air. A shard of ice erupted from her jaw and slammed into the side of Hemwick, who teetered, her vast frame getting closer and closer to falling over...and then her eyes opened.

"No way!" A gaggle of kids cried out, as Hemwick slammed a weary hoof onto the floor and send another spout of rocks in the Ninetales' direction. It whipped around for an escape route, but found none, as the rocks pelted it until it was forced to collapse where it stood. "Why didn't it work?"

"Pro has already used three inaccurate moves to attack Champion Moon's Pokemon." Ilima explained, as Pro called back his Ninetales with gritted teeth. "He wanted to go for a surefire hit, but it seems he underestimated how tough Mudsdale can be. Every hit makes it more resistant to the next – especially if it's physical, like that move was."

"Down to my last Pokemon...heh." Pro laughed, as his Lycanroc leaped out of its Pokeball for the final time. "Let's finish this up quickly. Lycanrock, Accelerock!" He called out, and his Pokemon was already hurtling through the air. It collided with the heavily-wounded Hemwick despite its own injuries, sending the horse stumbling into the levitating stones before it finally fell.

Moon smiled as she pulled out the last Pokeball and held it out.

"Let's go, Bouncee."The light scattered across her side of the battlefield and out strode a Pokemon with legs as long as her body, long green leaves that flowed out from beneath a purple crown. One of the levitating stones slammed into her leg and she fell to one knee. She caught herself with one hand and cast an unperturbed gaze over at the limping Lycanroc that was her foe.

"Why is the Champion smiling? They're both down to one Pokemon and she's already hurt!" One of the students asked Ilima, with his hands clutched to his chest.

"Because she knows she's already won." Ilima said.

"Hit her with all you've got!" Pro cried out, and his Lycanroc did just that. It charged at the Tsareena, dragging a massive stone spike with it. She strode towards it. The sands scattered behind the Lycanroc as it built up speed, getting closer and closer, its eyes set on its prey. Bouncee kept walking.

The Lycanroc leaped, the stone spike scraping Tsareena's side, but just as it passed, something green lashed out. It wrapped around all four of the wolf's limbs, bringing them tightly together, before tipping it right over. Its head slammed into the ground, and it fainted.

Bouncee gave a little tug of the whip in her hand, which retreated back into her body, and wiped the dust off of her shoulder. The wound on her side was already beginning to bruise, but no pain showed on her face.

"And the winner is...Champion Moon!" Ilima declared. Moon stared at the students as they burst into cheers, many of them calling for name or else that of her Pokemon. She didn't know what to say.


	7. Chapter 6

Moon soaked in the adulation of the students – she'd been celebrated before, she had fan mail waiting for her at the Pokemon League, but for the first time she felt like she'd been there to put on a show. And it had worked.

She was silently figuring out just how when Ilima clapped his hands together.

"It is time to return to your classrooms, once we have thanked the Champion and Pro for battling for us." Ilima said, then waited for the cheers of thanks that followed. "Very good. Once back in your classrooms, you can start thinking about what you learned from that battle. Or questions you have – a curious mind may be sated, but a quiet one never is."

The teachers began the process of shepherding the students back into the school and Moon let out a breath, just as Pro stepped up beside her.

"Woo! That's what I call a battle, cousin!" Pro beamed.

"You too, Pro." Ilima called out to the man. "You don't get to skip class just because you fought the Champion."

"Oh," Pro scratched his cheek. "Sure thing, Ilima! Let me just...use the bathroom." He said, and sprinted around the back of the school.

Moon watched some of the faces disappear into the crowd. Too many of them were looking at her like she wasn't just a kid who got good at training Pokemon. That couldn't have been enough to earn their respect. It had never been in the past. She shook the thoughts out of her head and turned to face Bouncee, who had followed up her finishing blow by posing majestically among the remains of the battlefield.

"Thank for helping me out." Moon held her fist out to the Tsareena. The Pokemon fist-bumped it and tapped the Pokeball still clutched in her master's hand. "You just got up. You're tired already?" Bounce flicked her leaves over one ear. "Okay then." The trainer relented, and Tsareena disappeared into her Pokeball.

There was new movement at the front of the school and Professor Kukui emerged, just ahead of a woman in a caretaker's uniform with a Raticate at her heels.

"Hey, cousin! Great match!" Professor Kukui waved Moon over to him as he stepped up to the edge of the battlefield.

"Hello, Professor Kukui." Moon looked up at the older man, who had donned his professor's coat, and watched as the caretaker took to the battlefield with tools in hand. "When did you see it?" The Raticate set about gnawing into the rocks that had been brought up during their battle, its teeth turning stone to sand while the caretaker evened it out.

"I was looking out of the window, yeah!" Professor Kukui pointed at one of the windows. "That was a close call, cousin. If you're not careful, that Pro kid is going to take your throne one day!" He laughed heartily. There was something earnest about it that Moon couldn't help but like. He was one of the first adults who'd helped her settle into Alola, and he made all the rest of them seem much less sinister somehow.

"Really?" Moon shrugged. "I'll look out for him. Tell me if you see any giant kids with abs, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem! Want to go for a walk? It's no use making your Pokemon train if you don't keep yourself in shape!" Kukui gestured to the sidewalk beside them and Moon nodded. "Let's go for it." He bobbed his head as he walked.

"Professor Kukui, why are you here?" Moon asked.

"Well, cousin, your mom sent me a message telling me that you've got some worries about the speech comin' up." Kukui shot her a smile. "And since I'm in charge of the whole thing, I thought I'd better to my best to make sure you do yours, yeah! If there's any questions you have or worries you want to get off your chest, hit me with 'em!"

Moon opened her mouth to answer, then paused. "I bet mom's told you most of them." She was already starting to feel guilty about bombarding people with her problems. And she hadn't even had the time to thank Ilima for his help. She had to do that later.

"She did! And the good news is, Professor Kukui's got all the advice you need, oh yeah!" Kukui jabbed a thumb as his own muscular chest. "I didn't get to where I was without four things!" He held up his hand. "One, determination! Two, support! Three, talent!" He held up a finger for each point. "You've got all three of those, and here's the one you're missing: Charisma!"

Moon nodded. "Where can I get some?"

"That's a whole different kind of battle, cousin." Kukui said. "But the good news is, I've fought it before and I can show you too! By the time we're done, the Champion's throne is going to look like a stool compared to the girl who sits on it, oh yeah!"

Moon hesitated. She didn't quite know where Professor Kukui was going with it, but he'd never let her down before.

"What's the first step?" Moon asked. There was a tightening in her gut, but she did her best to suppress it. She'd just performed for a crowd and it had gone better than she'd expected. There was nothing to fear.

"The first step...is how you look!" Professor Kukui said. "It's not everything, but everyone feels better after a hot shower, a fresh haircut, and dressed in a snazzy outfit! It won't carry you to the finish line, but it'll give you the energy you need to get there, oh yeah! The good news is, there's a mall right up the road, and we can start trying new styles right away. How's that sound, cousin?"

Moon contemplated it for a moment. She mostly wore what she thought was comfortable, or cool, but if Kukui said she could do better, she could probably do better. A few ideas went through her head, then she looked at Kukui and nodded. "I think I have an idea."


	8. Chapter 7

The inside of the changing booth always felt a little too big for Moon. She was smaller than most Alolan girls her age, which didn't bode well for her ability to perform as a champion. They were meant to be larger than life, imposing figures that caught people's attention and dominated everywhere they went. She had the skill to do it, to have exciting matches, but to excel, she had to be like the people who dominated every room they were in.

People like Professor Kukui.

Moon threw open the curtain and stepped out. There weren't too many people in the store, but Professor Kukui was sat waiting for her. He was fiddling with new caps and sunglasses when he turned to look at her and laughed.

"What?" Moon's cheeks darkened at the laughter. He'd never laugh at her, but something about it must have been amusing, which wasn't what she'd been going for.

"I see what you're going for, oh yeah! But let's go through this." Kukui stepped up beside Moon and pointed at the mirror inside the changing room.

She saw herself standing beside the Professor, clad in a long white jacket with gray sweatpants that went just past her knees and green shoes with shades and a snapback cap to match. She was a mirror image of him, save for the wrap around her chest to preserve her modesty.

"What difference d'you see?" Kukui asked. Moon stared at herself, then up at Kukui, then back, and shrugged. "Okay, cousin, let me point it out." He pointed at her reflected image, where the wrap ended and exposed her flat milky stomach. "Look at your midriff, and look at mine. Which is better?" He flexed his abs as he asked the question.

"...mine?" It wasn't true, but sometimes complete denial of the truth made her feel better.

"To pull off this look, you've got to put the effort in to make sure you've got a bod worth showing off, yeah! You're fit and you've got stamina, but the muscles make half the outfit and without it, you might as well be showing up to a fancy dinner with no pants on." Kukui smiled. "If you want to put in the work, I can give you tips, I can show you how to lift, how to eat, all the stuff to make you out-wrestle a Bewear, oh yeah! But the question is, do you wanna?"

Moon tried to imagine herself as some kind of musclebound woman, with rock-hard abs she could grate cheese on, biceps that could squash watermelons, and..well, she couldn't have pecs, but there were other muscles she could have. The idea wasn't terribly appealing, not to her, and she doubted Lillie would like it either. Not that she could just say that to Kukui – he'd find it amusing as her current outfit.

"No. You're right." Moon shook her head. "What style can I use?"

"That's the question, cousin. What makes a Champion a Champion? I can tell you now, you're not going to find your own style by copying everyone else's. You can take ideas and movements and the things you like, but you don't become a star by being someone else's shadow, oh no." Kukui said. "So what do you think makes Moon, Moon? D'you still have that chicken hat?"

"It was a flower hat." Moon shot a brief glare at the old man. "And it made my head hot."

"That's not what you want for your iconic Champion outfit." Kukui nodded his approval. "You need somethin' comfortable and easy to wear. As well as something that represents you. What do you like?"

"Battling." Moon said. "And Lillie. But that would be weird. I can't have her face on my clothes."

"But battling's something we can work with, oh yeah! It's something every Champion's good at, but do they show it in their outfit? It can't be the whole thing, but some parts of it, oh yeah! You can get a special belt for your Pokeballs, to show that you mean business." Kukui stroked his goatee. "You can have some kind of case for your items, like a utility belt, you can have special glasses that tell you how the battle's goin'. Sophocles has a pair, if you're interested."

"But I don't need glasses. I know how the battle's going. I pay attention."

"I don't doubt it, but your look is all about how you look!" Kukui turned back to the mirror. "When you see a police officer, how do you know they're a police officer?"

"Their uniform."

"That's right! When you see a woman in a bikini and a sarong, what's she doin'?"

"Going to the beach."

"That's right! Now when you're walkin' around on a normal day, wearin' your normal clothes, what do people think you are?"

Moon looked at herself in the mirror. She was still wearing a copy of Kukui's outfit, but she knew just what she looked like.

"Just..some girl."

Kukui snapped his fingers and pointed at Moon. "Three for three. When that woman's in her clothes, that's what she is. When that police officer's in theirs, that's what they are. Your clothes are how you tell the world who you are and what you do, cousin. The better you do it, the more you'll stand out and the better you'll be, and they'll know what you are just as well as you do, oh yeah! You don't need the glasses, but having them tells people that you take your battling seriously! Get it?"

"I get it." Moon took off the cap and sunglasses and placed them to the side. "But then what? Can I make an outfit out of battling?"

"Not a whole one, but you can get started right here." Kukui gestured all around him, at the vibrant clothes on display all across the room. "And I'll tell you a secret – the Pokemon League will pay for your outfit once you settle on one for being Champion, yeah!"

"Maybe I ca-" Moon was interrupted by beeping at her hip and pulled Doll off of her belt. "Gladion wants me to go over." She said, looking up at Kukui. "Can I do this some other time?"

"No problem, cousin." Kukui beamed. "Just remember to change back into your regular clothes before you go. The champ shouldn't get caught shoplifting before her speech." He laughed.

"Okay." Moon put one foot into the changing booth, then glanced back at Kukui. "Do you think the Masked Royal has any advice? About this stuff."

"The Masked Royal, huh…?" Professor Kukui stroked his goatee. "I'll see if I can put a word in for you, cousin. He's a busy guy, but I know he'll be happy to help, oh yeah!"


	9. Chapter 8

Moon grunted as she hopped off of the Charizard and stripped out of her safety gear. The ride pager was useful, but she always felt a little goofy putting on the helmet, the jumpsuit, the armbands, then dismounting and doing it all again to get down to her regular outfit. If she had her way, she'd ride Ornstein across Alola, but apparently Vikavolts weren't allowed to be registered as Ride Pokemon and she'd have been slapped with a fine.

Not that she couldn't pay it, what with her winnings, but it would disappoint Kukui, her mom, just about everyone.

But soon enough, the Charizard was flying off, she tucked away her Ride Pager, and made her way into Aether Paradise. Its stark white walls loomed above, below, all around her, and she wasn't quite sure what to think as she headed deeper inside. She had a lot of memories of it, more bad than good.

The first time she'd seen Aether Paradise, she'd been amazed by its size. The workers all seemed as kind as their mission statement, helping her through and happy to cover any of her initial awkwardness. There'd even been a kindly young intern who'd stopped her from getting lost and slipped her a candy bar for her nerves. It was as pleasant a place as any she'd ever been.

Every visit after that hadn't gone so well. Lusamine's hall of horrors stood out in her memories. A dozen Pokemon, frozen in place, and nobody had ever known. Did Gladion let them out? Would any of the Aether employees have? They must have been good people once, but they'd also stood in the way of her, Gladion, and Hau. Maybe they were just following orders. Maybe they agreed with Lusamine. Maybe they didn't even know they were finding Lillie.

She stepped into the main building and glanced at all of the faces around her. Would she recognize any of the ones who'd stood in her way? She didn't know; she was too focused on getting to Lillie and stopping her villain of a mother. All of them turned their heads to look at her as she passed, but she had free reign of the facilities. She knew that it was because she was Champion, she was a...person known to the President, but some part of her liked to think that they knew they couldn't stop her from going wherever she wanted.

The elevator hummed as she was taken deeper into the facility. It was where Gladion had asked her to meet him – not something they'd done before, but she felt like they knew each other despite their distance. They shared a bond with Lillie, shared the experience of fighting against Lusamine, and just battling with one another had done a lot to bring them closer.

Not that she expected it to be a particularly verbose encounter.

"So you came..." Gladion's voice came from the hall ahead, as the lights flared up and illuminated the hall beyond. He looked his usual self, but becoming the President of the Aether Foundation must have given him the resources to replace his torn outfit.

"Yeah." Moon strolled along the corridor until she was by the boy's side. He regarded her for a moment, his eyes lingering on her hair, then turned to the pad by the door and swiped his keycard through. The room beyond was one she'd seen before, with one section walled off, its windows blacked out. There was a table to one side, a desk beside it, and a stack of red Pokemon carriers beside a bookshelf. Like the rest of the building, it was immaculately clean.

Gladion walked inside and Moon followed. The door slid shut behind them and Gladion skulked over to the table, his fingers brushing over the edges.

"I guess I've got to thank you for all you've done for my family... Especially...for Lillie. I never knew she could smile like that." Gladion's eyes were staring off into space, rather than at her, and his voice cool. But there was a little fraying at the edges, like he was having trouble just saying the words. Moon knew what that was like.

"I..." Moon remembered all of Lillie's smiles. From the first flickers when they met to the brilliant grins on Exeggutor Island. She could have told Gladion all about how she felt about it, how Lillie helped her as much as she helped Lillie...but that wasn't what he wanted to hear. He'd brought her to Aether for a reason, and part of it was to get something off of his chest. "My pleasure."

Gladion nodded.

"My mother's desires to reach Nihilego..." Dark tendrils flashed across Moon's mind, a sea of pulsing shapes stretching all across the horizon, and a manic smile. "And what she did to achieve that goal..." Nebby, trapped and alone. Lillie broken and Gladion covered in scars from the Pokemon he tried to save. "I know she was completely out of control. But that doesn't mean I can't understand it."

Anger flared inside Moon. "Understand what? That...woman, was evil. She hurt Pokemon. She hurt Lillie!" Nothing had ever infuriated her as much as when Lillie told her what Lusamine was like, or when she'd gotten to see it for herself. Gladion sighed and looked to the side.

"It was my father who started it." He went on. "He was the first one who confirmed the existence of Ultra Wormholes and Ultra Beasts. But my father..." He took a deep breath. "He disappeared during an experiment. Trying to connect to an Ultra Wormhole. All that he left behind was a weakened Cosmog and his papers about Nihilego… Lusamine's obsession with Ultra Wormholes…and her obsession with Ultra Beasts...I think it was all basically her way of trying to reach him again."

The flame in Moon was doused by a tidal wave. When Lillie had been kidnapped, she would have taken on the world to bring her back. She would have fought anyone, gone anywhere, and done just about anything. And they hadn't even had their best years together, not yet. They hadn't been married, or had kids, or even been on many dates. How much worse would she have been, how much more determined, with more years to turn the red string of fate into an unbreakable chain?

She couldn't forgive Lusamine, not in the seconds it took for Gladion's words to sink in. Lillie had, and shed been the victim, but Moon had never been as strong as her. She had to work her way towards that. And with the knowledge that Lusamine was just as devoted to staying with her husband...she had to avoid becoming like Lusamine. She touched her hair, the white strands that had been coming in since the trip to Ultra Space.

She would not obsess. She would not be another Lusamine.

"That's what I had to believe." Gladion's words cut through Moon's reverie. How long had she been thinking? "To get through it." He looked up at Moon and met her eyes. "Do you understand?"

Moon stared back at Gladion. She didn't know whether his speech was for him or for her. But she answered all the same.

"I get it."

"I got in your way a lot." Gladion brushed his bangs aside and stood up properly. "While you were on your trials...on the islands, with Team Skull, and when Lillie was taken." He walked over to the sectioned-off part of the room. "I'd like to think it made both of us stronger. It's not an apology or anything, but..." He tapped on the keypad and the windows reverted to normal, the door slid open. "I hope you'll take this fellow."

In the other room was a bed, a food dispenser, and, at the center, a Pokemon. It was easily taller than her, with a great black frame and a giant hatchet attached to its helmet. Its front legs clacked as it prowled towards the door, both of them covered in some kind of waxy green chitin, while a fin-like tail helped it keep its balance. Its eyes could just barely be made out in the holes of its wooden helmet, which was cinched on tight with spokes around its gray-maned neck.

"Type: Null." Moon said aloud. It hesitated at the door, then burst through the room where she and Gladion stood. It wasn't attacking, not yet, but she could feel the tension in its movement.

"And I'll give you all the memory drives that let its Evolution, Silvally, change its type." Gladion pulled a stack of drives from the pocket of his hoodie and passed it to Moon. He had to wave it a couple of times before she could take her eyes away from the chimera and have the presence of mind to take it. "This is a different Type: Null. Not the same one I ran away with… It was kept in Secret Lab A. Its very existence was a secret."

Moon tucked the drives into her bag and carefully strode towards the Pokemon. She'd watched a lot of how Type: Null reacted to Gladion in battle, she'd read some of the notes on it the last time she was down there, and most importantly, she'd raised enough Pokemon to know how to handle them. She couldn't show fear, but she couldn't overstep her bounds either. She pulled a small Pokepuff out of her belt and held it out beneath the Pokemon's helmet. There was just enough of a gap there for it to bite, if she positioned her hand right.

"But I think I know you well enough." Gladion watched Type: Null's eyes meet Moon's as it lowered its head. "I think I can trust you to show it to the world."

Type: Null's head got so low that Moon could feel its breath scatter across her arm. She had no fear of Pokemon. All of them deserved to be loved...and all of them loved Pokepuffs. But she still let out a sigh of relief as Type: Null nibbled on the Pokepuff until it was gone, and pulled back with a little grunt of appreciation.

Moon just caught Gladion's smile in the reflection from the windows, as she turned back to face him.

"Thanks, Gladion." She knew that he trusted her when he didn't disapprove of her relationship with Lillie. But the fact that he trusted her enough to befriend a Pokemon only he'd helped before, one who had suffered so much...she'd never felt closer to the boy. "I'll take care of them."

"Hmph..." Gladion crossed his arms. "Maybe it's time I see a bit more of the world myself...and starting with that Pokemon League, I think. I hear that Alola's got a real strong Champion."

Moon thought she'd get whiplash from the sudden change of topic. But...if that was how it was going to be…

"Yeah. I heard she kicked the Aether President's butt four times already."

Gladion lifted one hand up to his forehead. His usual dramatic pose, Moon noticed.

"Hmph. With an attitude like that, you're asking to be dethroned."


	10. Chapter 9

"Do you have anything to eat?" Moon asked, as she and Gladion stepped into the elevator that would lead back to the surface of Aether Paradise. Null prowled just a little ways back from the pair of them, drawing the eyes of every employee they passed. Every motion gave away the tension in its muscles.

"Hey," Gladion called to the nearest employee, who had been on their way to the elevator before suddenly becoming distracted by the laces of their slip-on shoes. "Noa, isn't it?" The well-dressed man nodded. "It's about lunch. Tell the cafeteria to send something up to the mansion."

"Right away, Sir." Noa said, then stood there as the elevator doors closed and it rumbled beneath their feet.

"How's being President?" Moon asked, as she felt Type: Null shuffle awkwardly beside her. It was butting its head against the walls, touching its claws to the floor, sniffing at the air. It must not have spent much time outside of its enclosure. That was one reason why she wasn't going to call it back into a Pokeball any time soon.

"It's hard." Gladion shrugged. "Lusamine had the place set up to run by itself while she was chasing the Ultra Beasts. Wicke managed most things, but that's not how I want to run Aether. So I have to learn."

Moon scratched the back of her neck as the elevator doors opened, gasps escaped from the lips of various employees, and Gladion lead the way to the mansion. She kept a close eye on Type: Null as they walked, lest it sense the atmosphere and start to get jut as agitated as the employees were wary.

"You have ordering people down." Moon noted.

"Or they've just got leftover obedience." Gladion swiped his card through the doors that revealed the ivory pathway to the President's mansion, the soft green trees that swayed in the breeze. For her, it was a nice return from the artificial interior. For Type: Null, it was a chance to explore the grass and feel the wind. But even so, it was reluctant, and slipped back into Moon's shadow.

"Maybe." Moon drifted from Gladion's side, off of the path that lead right to the mansion, and Gladion paused to watch what she was doing. "But Team Skull seemed afraid of you. That's something, right?" She asked, as she backed up to one of the trees and held out a hand to beckon Type: Null towards her. It cast its eyes around it, at the ground it was to follow, and slowly padded towards her.

"Guzma did most of the work." Gladion watched Moon's fingers sink into the ruff of fur around Type: Null's neck, before she slipped around the back of the tree. "Between him pushing them around and Plumeria catching them, the two of them had everyone wrapped around their fingers. Except for me." The Pokemon followed her around the tree, until they were back at the front and it received another stroke along its mane.

"It worked. Kinda." Moon said, as she point towards one of the other trees, then at Type: Null. Its eyes peered out of its helmet, following her finger, but not where she was pointing towards. She furrowed her brow, then walked over to the other tree and touched her finger to it. The chimeric Pokemon prowled after her, and touched its helmet to the trunk of the tree. She smiled and ran over to the first tree.

"That kind of thing only works as long as you're tough enough to push them around." Gladion furrowed his brow as he watched Type: Null run after Moon, up to the tree. Then she pointed at another one, and Type: Null steadily made its way over towards it. It kept looking back, to see Moon nod, until it finally reached the tree and touched its helmet to it. "Beating him in the middle of Po Town would have disbanded them even if what happened...hadn't."

"So you're not going to copy that?" Moon had to speak louder to ensure Gladion could hear her, as she ran over to join Type: Null. Her voice wasn't quite as stable as she'd have liked – she'd never been comfortable with yelling.

"What? Don't be stupid." Gladion huffed. "People aren't going to work for me or for Pokemon conservation if I push them around, especially after what Lusamine did."

"So. What are you gonna do?" Moon jogged over to another tree, then pointed to the nearest one. Type: Null ran over towards it, then walked around to look at her again. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She pointed again and watched the confusion in the Pokemon's shadowed eyes, before something seemed to click and it ran to the next one, further away.

"What I can." Gladion shrugged his shoulders. "I'll wear a suit if I have to." He watched as Moon waved the Pokemon towards her. "No, wait!" He called out, but Type: Null had already started sprinting across the grass. Its every stride threw up some grass, some dirt, and Moon threw herself to the side as it struggled to stop itself and slammed into the tree with a deafening crack.

The tree fell to the ground with a thump, Type: Null tumbled over it and scrambled to its feet. Moon immediately went to its side, hopping over the fallen tree to place a soothing hand on its shoulder.

"They don't know their own strength," Gladion said, as he approached Moon and Type: Null.

"Got it." Moon ran her hands along Type: Null's ruff until she was sure it wasn't upset, and to give her a chance to look it over for any injuries. She doubted there would be, but it wouldn't hurt to check. "Sorry about your tree."

Gladion looked over the damage, then shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Are you going to give Type: Null a name?"

"I don't know." Moon said. "I'll see if I can find one they like."


	11. Chapter 10

"Mom, I've got a big one." Moon called into the house. It was well past dinnertime by that point, and Type: Null had started prowling across their front porch. It had turned out that her decision to fly to Aether Paradise, followed by the choice not to put Type: Null in a Pokeball, meant that she'd had to take a ship back to Melemele Island. Fortunately, the staff seemed a little less hesitant around Type: Null than the Aether employees, and she'd managed to get dinner for both of them along the way.

"Oh, your new Pokemon? Let me see." Mom could be heard shuffling through the door, then it opened to reveal Moon and Type: Null just slinking over to the source of the voices. Her eyes doubled in size. "Oh my. Well, you weren't lying." She smiled. "Let me guess: You want permission to take them into the house?"

Moon held her hand out for Type: Null. Its claws scraped against the stairs until it was stood beside her, looming over the pair of them, but still well within door height.

"Type: Null hasn't had a good life." Moon explained. "So I can't put them away. Not yet."

"Hmm...well, say no more." Mom stepped aside. "Come in, Type: Null. Would you like me to take your hat?" Her grin was as big as her joke was funny. To her, anyway.

Type: Null stared at the woman, then followed Moon into the living room. It sniffed at the air and started to walk along the edges of the room.

"Might want to keep Tanahashi away." Moon said, as she slipped out of her shoes and headed straight to her bedroom. "Where is he?"

"Off doing Meowth things." Mom shrugged. "I think he's clever enough to keep out of Type: Null's way." She added, smiling as she returned to the couch and the camera set out on top of it. "Would you like a picture with your new friend?" She had to yell to be heard, as Moon had already started trudging across the room.

"No thanks." It wasn't that she didn't want to take a picture with Type: Null. But she didn't feel in the mood, and Doll had pestered her about it the whole way over. For some reason, they always felt emboldened when there were only Normal Pokemon around. As though their usual invulnerability applied when they were in an easily-broken Pokedex.

"Here's where we'll sleep. Most of the time." Moon explained to the Pokemon, as she put her belt on her desk. Her room hadn't changed since she left it that morning, and Type: Null failed to surprise her as it started sniffing around the room, evaluating its new surroundings, with the familiar scrape and thumps of its legs. They'd stop as soon as it relaxed, she trusted. But she didn't want to worry about that. What she wanted to do was flop onto her bed and wallow in her own annoyance.

So she did that.

Her day had gone well. She'd found a target for what to do for the next month. She got advice from her mom, from Ilima, and from Professor Kukui. She was going to get a new outfit, she had more experience than she had before, and she'd even discovered more about Gladion's trust in her. She'd learned how he was dealing with his own unfamiliar role as President and been given the opportunity to care for a unique Pokemon in the way only a trainer of her caliber could.

But something was missing.

It was hardly a mystery. She hadn't even been able to get through the day without thinking about how much she missed Lillie. They could have spent that time going for a walk, or just hanging out and reading together, or looking after the Pokemon at the Aether conservation center. Maybe she'd just have wanted to stay in and then Lillie would encourage her to go out and see people, or take her Pokemon out for some exploring, and she'd get to act a little spoiled and stubborn until Lillie convinced her to get o-

A ring echoed through the room. Moon rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a thud that made Type: Null's head swivel. She scrambled across the floor, just barely managing to pull herself up to a standing position as she hurried to the desk and snatched up her phone.

"Hello?" Came the gentle voice in her ear.

"Hi!" Moon beamed into her phone.

"Umm...is that your ear?" Lillie asked.

"What?"

"This is a video call." Lillie giggled. It always filled Moon with tingles, though some of them may have been from embarrassment as she held her phone out in front of her to confirm that there was, in fact, a video of Lillie on the screen.

"You look pretty." The words came out before Moon could stop them. Of course Lillie was pretty. What a stupid thing to say.

"Thank you." Lillie's cheeks bloomed pink. She was wearing her Z-Powered outfit, set against the familiar muted walls of a Kanto inn. Just over her shoulder, Moon could spot Lusamine laid down on a futon, wrapped in sheets. "Y-You too! You always do, but, um. How are you?"

"I'm good. Good." Moon nodded, reaffirming her own belief. "How's Kanto?" She dug her fingers into her palm to give herself a little more control. She couldn't make herself seem like an idiot over the phone, or Lillie might think something was wrong.

"It's so different..." Lillie turned her head to glance at the walls of the room, then back into the camera. Her eyes were as green as ever, her porcelain features cast in a soft light. "I know you said that it was, but now we're here and...there aren't even beds!" She tilted the camera to point at the empty futon she was apparently sitting on. "I know there are some, but not in this inn!"

"There will be some when you get further inland." Moon said. "Are you still in Vermilion City?"

"Yes! There are a lot of people here and the people at the Pokemon Fan Club have been very helpful." Lillie grinned, as she reached for something off camera and held a Pokeball up. "I caught my first Pokemon, Moon!"

"Cool! What is it?" Moon asked, then Lillie let out a squeal.

"Th-There's a Pokemon behind you!" Lillie said, then Moon turned her head to see Type: Null peering over her shoulder, into the camera. "Oh...oh! Is that...Type: Null?" She squinted at the camera.

"Yeah. Gladion trusted me with it." Moon said, as she held the camera up to the curious Pokemon's face. It sniffed the device, then turned away and walked across the room. "It's not his, but..." She frowned, watching Type: Null climb onto her bed. "Get off of there." She demanded. Type: Null paused and stared at her. "Now, please."

They stared at one another, with Lillie watching from the phone, but eventually Type: Null relented and curled up beside the bed instead.

"Thank you." Moon looked back at Lillie. "Sorry. It hasn't been here long."

"I'm glad that you and Gladion are getting along." Lillie smiled. "And...she' a Clefairy! I decided to name her Luna. Like moon?" Her smile grew. "She's shy, but she's cute, and she likes battling, and she's from Kanto. Like you!"

"Clefairy isn't found near Vermilion City." Moon's brow furrowed. "Only in Mount Moon."

"Well..I didn't catch her all by myself. The Pokemon Fan Club let me adopt her." Lillie said, as she ran her thumb over the Pokeball. "Is the name okay?"

"The name?" Moon blinked, then blushed. "O-Oh, sorry...sorry..." She was such an idiot. Lillie had done something nice and she'd already decided what to talk about halfway through her explanation. "That's really sweet! Maybe I should call Type: Null something like Lillie..." She glanced at the resting Pokemon. "Um, maybe not. It's not cute enough to be Lillie."

"Moon..." Lillie giggled. "I'm not that cute, really."

"Yeah, you are." Moon said, determinedly. "The Champion says so, so it must be true."

"You're not the Champion of Kanto, so it doesn't count." Lillie had a twinkle in her eyes.

"I can be Champion of Kanto before tomorrow night! Nebby can carry me there and I'll beat up whoever's there and then you can't say you're not cute."

"What if I beat them up first?" Lillie asked.

Moon gaped at the camera.

"Got you!" Lillie laughed softly. "You can't beat the Champion if I'm the Champion."

"That's...totally unfair." Moon huffed. "You're not allowed to use charm to beat me at Pokemon. It's...illegal!"

"Aha!" Lillie held a finger up to the camera. "No it's not! There are lots of Pokemon that use their abilities or moves to charm their opponents, just like Luna here." She tapped her Pokeball. "If Pokemon are allowed to do it, then so can people."

There was no way for Moon to counter that point.

"Fine...you win. But you're gonna regret it."

"I am?" Lillie tilted her head.

"Yeah. No kisses for...a day when you get back." Despite her words, Moon wasn't at all confident that she'd actually succeed in dealing out that punishment.

"Y-You wouldn't!" Lillie glanced back at the sleeping Lusamine, then leaned into the camera and kissed it.

"I-I'm not kissing you through a camera..." Moon's cheeks were rosy.

Lillie pouted at her.

"I won't! It's dumb!"

Lillie batted her eyelashes, those beautiful green eyes staring at her through the screen.

Moon quickly pecked the camera.

"I told you so!" Lillie beamed.

Moon had never felt so happy to be wrong, as they talked away through the evening...


	12. Chapter 11

"Hallo." Came a voice from behind Moon.

She took one last look at herself in the mirror – an outfit she'd thrown together from a few suggestions from her mother and her own Pokemon. She'd gone for some boots (Flat, because she'd die before she'd put on anything with a heel taller than her toes), a pair of smart pants, and a suit jacket along with a t-shirt. That last part provided her with a splash of blue. She didn't feel like a Champion so much as a salaryman on casual Friday, but it wasn't final. She could take some comfort in that.

Moon turned around to see Mina standing behind her, fingertips stained blue and a small box clutched under one arm. Her eyes were resting on Type: Null, who'd just returned from a trip around the backstage of the Battle Royal Dome and was resting at Moon's feet. She waited for Mina to notice her.

And waited…

And waited…

"Mina."

"Yeah, so," Mina gradually pulled her gaze back to Moon. "The Masked Royal told me to make a cool mask for you. I have it in the box." She said, then pulled it out from under her arm and held it out. "You should probably wear it."

"Oh. Thank you." Moon briefly smiled at Mina. She was one of the least energetic Captains she'd met, which suited her fine, especially given the exhibition match she was about to have. There'd be enough energy in there to make her hair stand on end. She opened the box.

Inside was a deep blue mask, with gilded edges that would curl around her jawline and just at her cheekbones. A white skeletal pattern was sat on its nose, leading down to its cheeks, while the very tip of it was crested with a golden crescent moon that faced upwards.

"A wrestling mask." Moon said. It was just like the kind the Masked Royal wore, but lacking a mouth hole. But there was something else about it, something familiar that lingered on the tip of her tongue before leaping off. "Nebby!"

"What?" Mina glanced up. "I think it's called Lunala."

"Um. Yeah." Moon nodded. "It is. Thanks. Can you show me how to put it on?" She'd been told to wear it, and she wasn't going to disrespect something that took so much effort for Mina to make. Even if she could paint a landscape in her sleep, this was something special.

"Yeah, let me get your hair." Mina gently pushed Moon's shoulder, forcing her to face the mirror, then tugged a hairband off of her arm and used it to tie the Champion's hair up in a tight ponytail. She grabbed the mask out of the box and wrapped it around Moon's face – it was surprisingly soft, and cool. No doubt to avoid sweating in the humid Alolan air. She tugged the ponytail up into a hole at the back, then laced it up at the back. It fit quite snugly on her features.

"How did you get it to fit so well?" Moon asked, as she checked herself out. She wasn't sure what to make of it. The mask was excellent, but that just made the rest of her outfit feel sloppy. She tucked her t-shirt in and did some of the buttons up on her jacket. It was better, but not perfect.

"I know what your face looks like." Mina shrugged. "It looks great." She gave a thumbs up in the mirror. Type: Null glanced up and apparently had no strong feelings on the matter. Then a buzzer blared through the backstage and Type: Null leaped to its feet, casting eyes every which way around the curved hall. "Oh. Time to go on. Good luck."

"Okay." Moon breathed. "Thanks again." She called out after Mina, who had already started to wander away. She gave Type: Null a reassuring stroke on its mane, then stepped up to the blue door that would lead to the arena of the Battle Royal dome. She listened closely, her heart pounding.

"Welcome one and all to this special exhibition Battle Royal," The announcer's buttery-smooth voice bounced off of the walls even back there. "Featuring one of Alola's own Trial Captains, the famous Masked Royal, and two special contestant. Four Pokemon will enter, but only one will leave victorious. Let's start things off with the man whose name is synonymous with this arena – The Masked Royal and his companion, Crabominable!"

A hundred facts lit up in Moon's head, along with strategies, times she's fought or watched people fight Crabominable, how it would affect the Battle Royal formula. But most important was Type: Null, who would be vulnerable to the power of that Pokemon.

"Don't worry." Moon whispered to Type: Null, as she patted the purple crystal that was clasped around its neck. "This Eviolite will keep you safe. You're gonna be tougher than a castle made of Shuckles." Although she doubted Type: Null understood exactly what a castle was, it stood a little taller with the reassurance.

"And the second contestant," The announcer continued once the crowd had died down. "Trial Captain Mina, with her Shiinotic!" Well. That explained why she'd been backstage, Moon silently supposed.

"Your third contestant is a delinquent tur-"

"Hey!" Came a voice that somehow managed to be louder than the announcer's microphone. "Just call me Plumeria, alright?"

"...your third contestant is Plumeria, with her Toxapex!" Moon furrowed her brow. Plumeria had been the least obnoxious member of Team Skull, but she was still part of them. She had to admit that she wasn't a bad Pokemon Trainer, for whatever other faults she had. And she was technically trying to make good on her past mistakes by turning the former members of Team Skull into productive members of the community.

"And finally," The crowd, which didn't sound much louder than twenty or so people, silenced their muted cheers for Plumeria. "Our final contestant...The Mysterious Stranger! With her Pokemon...is that name right? With her Pokemon...Type; Null!" And that had to be her.

Moon walked along the blue path and out towards the arena, with Type: Null at her side. The lights felt a little brighter than they had the last time she was there, the air a little hotter, but at least the long walk gave her time to take in the crowd.

It was filled with familiar faces. There was Acerola, Wicke, her mom, Hau, the rest of the Trial Captains and Kahunas and even Kahili, who had just showed up as a member of the Elite Four one day and she'd never gotten to know. Many of them were curious about her, but even more eyes were on Type: Null. It kept its eyes down until the time came to walk up the stairs, where she gestured her Pokemon before her and it pounced onto the stage.

Moon took in her opponents. Type: Null did the same. Then the announcer spoke one last time.

"Let the battle begin!"


	13. Chapter 12

"Bolster." Moon told Type: Null. Their bond wasn't close enough for her to use more subtle commands, like she did with most of her team, but at least she didn't have to use direct move names. People being able to react to that would have nearly crippled her, especially considering the competition she was up against.

Type: Null lowered closer to the floor of the arena, grounding itself and scraping its claws on the floor. Although it didn't look too big on the stage, it was the largest of the Pokemon there. It wouldn't have been ideal, but she already knew what some of her opponents were going to do. Mina couldn't let Plumeria roam around while she sat there with a four times weakness.

"That's an invite for a tie-up if I've ever seen one, yeah!" The Masked Royal pointed over at Type: Null. "Hit it!" He called out, and the beast of a Pokemon lumbered over with a gradual speed that left its massive claws swinging at either side, then slammed one of them into Type: Null's side at the last moment.

Moon knew it was super-effective. She knew Crabominable had an incredibly powerful attack, that it could throw its punches better than most Pokemon out there.

That was why she smiled as the Drain Punch slammed into Type: Null, forcing it back along the ramp, but leaving it snarling. It was nowhere close to done. The Masked Royal's eyes widened momentarily, but Mina and Plumeria were too caught up in their own part of the battlefield to take notice.

"Jab her already." Plumeria ordered her Toxapex.

"Sleep sounds good." Mina yawned. The Toxapex skittered across the stage on its tentacle-like legs, the Shiinotic's little plant legs not fast enough to carry it away before one poisoned spike pierced its side and sent it flying across the arena with flailing arms and an ineffective puff of spores. It bounced to a halt, but not before spinning around and sending a line of spores across the battlefield...right into the hunting Toxapex's face.

The blue Pokemon fell sleeping to the floor before it could close the distance. Moon noticed that the purple splotch that had been forming around Shiinotic's wound reduced, just a little. She was healing, but not fast enough if Toxapex hadn't been put to sleep.

"Go for it." Moon instructed Type: Null. It didn't need any more encouragement, as it spun on its front paws and slammed its hip into Crabominable's squat frame. The crab was sent reeling back on its clawed legs, struggling to keep balance, and Moon met Type: Null's eyes in the second before it turned back around to square up with its foe. The crowd let out a few cheers at the first attack from the unusual Pokemon.

"Go for the finish! You don't need to beat her when it comes to a fatal four way." The Masked Royal called out to his cracked Crabominable, which regained its balance and suddenly charged towards the still-healing Shiinotic. The mushroom was bet with an ice-encrusted claw that sent it soaring across the arena, to the gasps of the crowd, before it finally skidded to a stop at the very edge of the arena. One second passed, then another, and then it pulled itself back to its feet with a happy little cry.

"C'mon. Wake up. It's time to fight." Plumeria was encouraging her Toxapex, but it was still slumped over in the middle of the arena.

"Take back your energy!" Mina called out to Shiinotic. A green aura surrounded the Pokemon, then lashed out at the resting Toxapex. The color drained from the Pokemon, then filled Shiinotic right back up. The flakes of ice and the purple poison started to retreat, and then did a little more. It was tougher than Moon would have expected, but she was still in control.

"Again." Moon ordered Type: Null. Crabominable barely had time to turn around to face the attack before Type: Null threw the full weight of itself at the dwarf-like crab and sent both of them tumbling across the arena in a mess of limbs. The crowd cheered again, as Type: Null ended their role on top of the Crabominable and looked over at Moon. She nodded back.

"Woo! Now you're in just the right place...for a chopblock!" The Masked Royal announced, and his pinned Crabominable wasted no time in slamming one of its massive claws into Type: Null's leg. The chimeric Pokemon growled as it crumpled to the ground beside the Crabominable and forced itself to its feet. The Crabominable rolled back to an upright position, some of the cracks from Type: Null's attack fading in the wake of its own.

A good move, Moon reasoned. Crabominable was all muscle, but its shell was thin. The problem was that this was a battle devoted to staying power – Shiinotic had it, Toxapex had it, and thanks to Type: Null and a little Eviolite, so was did she. It couldn't get enough momentum to make use of its attack power and stay healed.

Mina's eyes sailed over the battlefield, then onto the Crabominable, and she nodded. "Aim for the moon." She said, and Moon frowned for a moment, until she saw the white sphere that formed above Shiinotic's raised limbs. It hovered there for a moment, then sailed across the arena. Crabominable tried to skitter away, forced back from its stand-off with Type: Null, but couldn't avoid the sphere that collided with it in a mighty crash.

"One more time." Moon told Type: Null. The Masked Royal clenched his fist tight as her Pokemon dashed across the battlefield, darting to and fro, then waited for the last of the light to disappear before crashing into its foe. The Crabominabe reeled back while Type Null landed back on its feet, falling further and further back, before finally crashing to the ground with a mighty thud. Its eyes were closed.

"The Masked Royal has been eliminated!" The announcer called out.

"Strip 'em down." Plumeria's voice called out. Moon watched as a cloud of mist emerged from the freshly-roused Toxapex and coiled round Type: Null. It stood there, letting the mist wash over it, and Moon pursed her lips. It was completely expected, but still annoying. Her Pokemon's bolstered attack had been stripped away, and more importantly, the marks Shiinotic's attack had already disappeared from the Toxapex. Everyone was a healer.

"Let's fix that." Mina ordered her Shiinotic, which once again drained the Toxapex and brought its own flesh back to a nearly pristine state. The Toxapex let out a hiss, and started to barrel towards Type: Null.

"Bolster." Moon ordered again, and Type: Null repeated the process of ready for an attack. Its head flicked between both of its opponents.

"You make me sick." Plumeria said. "No, wait..." She smiled, as her Toxapex unleashed a barrage of poisoned spikes that dotted Type: Null's side. It did not reel, at least, not until the poison sank into its flesh and made its stance a little less sure. In the wake of that attack came a much worse one from Shiinotic, a bright blast of white that forced Type: Null to stumble backwards from the weight of all of the attacks so far. It wouldn't last long.

The damage wouldn't, anyway.

"Relax." Moon said. Type: Null's eyes closed, leaving the inside of its helmet in darkness, and settled close to the ground. Before the eyes of everyone there, the bruises from Crabominable's attacks, the poison, the scorch of Shiinotic's Moonblast, all were washed away. Mina nodded slowly while Plumeria's eye twitched.

"Do it again." Mina said.

"Hit 'em!" Plumeria declared.

The resting Type: Null was met with another hail of poison, but this time larger spikes that actually pierced its flesh. Then another burst of light. It sleep was disturbed by the blows, but not so much that it was roused. The attacks were powerful, but neither Pokemon had the muscle to break through Type: Null's bulk, or its enhanced defenses. That was what Moon had been counting on.

"You're still in this." Moon told Type: Null. The Pokemon gradually moved, but its eyes were still closed, its body very much asleep. It raised one leg, then scraped it along the ground. Another boost for its attacks. The crowd started muttering among themselves.

"Again!" Both women cried out, and another pair of strikes hit Type: Null's sleeping form. They hurt it even more. The audience watched with bated breath as Moon spoke again.

The sleeping Type Null suddenly darted across the distance between itself and Shiinotic, slamming into it with such force that the walking mushroom careened right off of the stage and into the stands around them. It barely let out a cry as it faded from consciousness, to the delight of the crowd.

"Take down its attack!" Plumeria cried out, her eyes wide, and Toxapex unleashed another gout of mist. It wrapped around Type: Null just as it had before, removing the effects of its enhanced attack just as its eyes flicked open.

"...relax." Moon smiled as Plumeria's eye twitched and Type: Null went right back to sleep. It had been badly wounded by the two-pronged attacks, but, just like before, they were removed as its body went to rest.

Plumeria looked at the sleeping Type: Null. Then back to her Toxapex. Then at Moon.

"I...give up." Plumeria said, recalling Toxapex and scowling as she folded her arms.

Moon was glad she was wearing a mask, else her smirk might have made her seem rude. With Eviolite, Type: Null easily rivaled Toxapex's defenses, but it was tougher, hit harder, and had just as much ability to recover as she did. If Plumeria hadn't conceded, they'd have been in for a very long grind-down of her Toxapex before she'd be defeated anyway.

"Your winner...The Mysterious Stranger!" The announcer announced, to the cheers and whoops of everyone in the crowd. And even one person beside the arena, as The Masked Royal clapped his hands and pumped his fist. "Now, we'd like to get a few words from our victor." As the announcer said that, a microphone lowered from the ceiling, suspended on a cable, and swayed before Moon's face.

Moon's stomach turned. It all fit together. She'd been invited here for an exhibition. They knew that she was good enough to beat them. It was inevitable she'd win. She'd been given a mask to hide her face, her friends, or at least acquaintances, had been invited. This way a set-up to give her a chance to speak without embarrassing herself. And yet…

Her throat was dry. Her tongue wouldn't move. Her mind was filled with nothing. She stared at the swaying microphone.

"How does it feel to beat the Masked Royal in his own arena?" The announcer prompted, after several seconds of silence.

Moon's eyes looked over the crowd. Everyone was waiting for her to speak. Some were already getting nervous that she wasn't. But none more so than her. What could she say? What did she want to say? What did they want to hear? Type: Null was walking towards her. They must have known it was her – it wasn't like there was anyone else her age, or with black and white hair, or who had a Type: Null, who could battle like she could. They'd know she couldn't talk. They'd know she was an idiot.

It was too much.

Moon grabbed a hold of Type: Null's mane and pulled herself onto its back.

"Go." She whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. There were gasps in the crowds as Type: Null rocketed out of the arena, through the backstage area, and out into Royal Avenue. She'd made a fool of herself just by doing it, but at least she was out of there. Away from their expectations, away from everything that made her feel like an idiot, like some stupid kid who didn't know what she was doing or even how to talk like a normal person.

Royal Avenue was a blur around her. Type: Null carried her out of its paved streets, its colorful buildings, its curious people, out into Route 6. It headed straight into the nearest trees, a small clearing shrouded by plants and shadows, then slowed. Moon let herself slide off of Type: Null's back, land with a grunt, and tear off her mask. A wonderful gift that she'd ruined because she was too scared to talk in front of people.

Type: Null snarled. Moon glanced up, her eyes bloodshot, and followed the Pokemon's gaze to the clearing entrance.

"Tch." Said the man emerging from the underbrush. "What kinda champ just rides past without so much as a 'yo, Guzma'?"


	14. Chapter 13

"Guzma." Moon let her mask fall to the floor and grabbed a handful of Type: Null's fur to help pull herself to her feet. Guzma was as big a man as she'd ever seen, standing taller than the Pokemon beside her, but she wasn't scared of him. She hadn't been for a long time. "Came back to get beat up?"

"Tch." Guzma's eyes narrowed on Moon, his shoulders tense, and then he let them relax and strolled deeper into the clearing. "Brat. I don't see a sign saying Moon's Clearing here," He kicked a stone into the brush. "Nope, not there either, so I guess you just have to deal with it."

"...hit him." Moon said. Guzma barely had a moment to turn around before Type: Null barreled into him and sent him crashing into the nearest tree. There was a crack and a wheeze, and he crumpled to his knees. She'd never really believed in using Pokemon to hurt people, but she made an exception for Team Skull. She crossed the distance between them as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and met his eyes. Their height was much closer with him on his ass.

"You little..." Guzma clenched his fist at his side, his eyes as dark as she'd ever seen them. That looked passed like the wind and he rested his head against the tree. "Whatever. You ain't got it in you to beat me down."

"I've done it before."

"Nah." Guzma shook his head. "You've beat me down and you've taken me out but crushing me? Nah. That's what I'd do. You've got that girl, and those other brats, and all the Kahunas and Captains beggin' to lick your shoes clean. And that." He tapped his own wrist, and Moon lifted hers up. It was where her Z-Ring was attached, part of a gift from Tapu Koko. "The Guardian Deities don't give their blessings to people like your boy." He jammed a thumb at himself.

"Yeah." Moon scowled at Guzma and let her arm hang back at her side. "That's right. 'Cause you're a jerk."

"Is that what you think?" Guzma scoffed. "Tch. Just 'cause you got lucky you think you can tell your boy what he is or what he ain't? Get outta here."

"I don't hurt people." Moon glared at the man.

"Coulda fooled me." Guzma rolled his shoulders where he'd been thrown at the tree. "But I get it. Y'all think that one bad day is a good enough reason, right? Try a week. Try a month, a year, see where that takes you."

"Not as far as you." Moon said. "Nothing could make me do stuff as bad as what you did." She could already feel herself getting angry at him again. She had all the power in the world. She had Type: Null. She had her team at her hip. Tapu Lele was everywhere on its own island – and she'd befriended it. She shouldn't get angry, but everything he'd done was flashing to the forefront of her mind. All the stolen Pokemon, all the vandalism, kidnapping Lillie…

She had to calm down.

"What made you do it? If that's your excuse." Moon asked. Guzma glared at her or a moment, then shook his head.

"You're a kid. You shouldn't know any more than I did. Cram it if you know what's good for you."

Moon furrowed her brow. Guzma was at least a little different since Team Skull disbanded, since his encounter in Ultra Space. He was a brute and a thug and she couldn't forgive him for that...but she'd seen shades of something else. On Hao'uli beach, for one. And along Route 13. And right in front of her. He knew she had the upper hand, and still he was acting like he was tough, like she was the one that needed protecting.

"I think you're a liar." Moon said. Guzma barked a laugh.

"A liar? You've got it all twisted – I'm destruction in human form! I'm the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down an-"

"And never lets up." Moon interrupted "You always say that."

"So wh-"

"Guzma! What is wrong with you?"

"Shut i-"

"It's your boy, Guzma!"

"I said shut it!" Guzma slammed his fast against the tree behind him. Moon could see him wince even as he just let his arm fall. "What's your point, kid? Tch. How do you even remember that crap?"

"I have a good memory." Moon shrugged. She wouldn't be half as good as Pokemon battling if she hadn't taken the time to memorize types, moves, strategies… "My point is...you're not so tough." She expected the glare that followed. "You act like you are. And you talk about it. A lot. But you're just..." She remembered the last conversation she'd been in. "Trying to front."

"Where's your proof?" Guzma challenged. "That ain't gonna stick unless you've got proof."

"I don't need it." Moon said. "I know it's true."

"Tch. You've got some guts to say that to my face." Guzma shook his head where he sat. "What's your point?"

"I want your help."

"My help?" Guzma looked up. "Why would I help you?"

"I don't know." Moon said. "But you saw me running and came after me. And you wouldn't tell me something, because it would hurt me. And you talked about protecting the people that were in Team Skull. So I think maybe if I ask, you will."

"What d'you even need?" Guzma asked. "You passed the trials. You're the champ. You've even got the Guardian Deities on your side. You've got it good already."

"I..." Moon would have to tell him if she wanted his help. And she did. Professor Kukui knew how to perform. Ilima knew how to teach. Hala knew how to lead. But only Guzma had lived his life with a mask on. "I'm the champion. And I have to act like one. But I don't know how. You made everyone think you're a big bad boss. So...teach me."

Guzma's eyes shifted between Moon, the ground, the discarded mask, and then back to her bloodshot eyes. He scratched the back of his head, then smirked.

"You want to see what it takes to be Guzma? Fine. But it ain't going to be easy."

"Okay." Moon offered her hand to Guzma. He looked at her outstretched hand, shook his head, and forced himself back to his feet. "That was dumb."

"Shut it."

"You just hurt your back more."

"I can still keep wreckin'." Guzma rolled his shoulders. "First rule: You have to call me Master."

"No."

"What did I just say?" Guzma glared at the girl beside him.

"I don't know, Guzma. Something dumb?"

"You've got the disrespect down." Guzma snorted, but his lips curled up. "Okay, that was the first rule: Don't let anyone tell you what to do. If they do, you know what you do?"

"Beat them down?"

"You beat them down!"

"That's what I said."

"Second rule..."


	15. Chapter 14

"Here's your first lesson." Guzma said, as he planted his foot on a bale of hay and pointed across Paniola Ranch. The day was still young, the sun shining high overhead, and one of the farmhands and set up a stall just at the exit to Route 6. There was a selection of small ice cream cups set out on the surface, with the sign having been painted with the words "free sample". "They're giving out one to everyone. Your boy, Guzma, is gonna come out of it with two."

"That's..." Moon glanced at Type: Null, who seemed to have no strong feelings on the matter. "Dumb. Who cares about two samples?"

"Shut it! I can't go around beating everyone down like I used to, and you're just a starter, so we start small." Guzma said. "Watch and learn, kid." He smoothed back his wild white hair, adjusted his jacket, and strode off towards the stall. Moon peered over the top of the bale of hay to watch the master at work.

"Alola! Welcome to Paniola Ra-"

"I'm takin' two." Guzma interrupted the blonde woman at the counter, and snatched up one bowl. He downed it in one gulp, crushed the cup, then tossed it to the side.

"I'm sorry, Sir." The farmhand offered her brightest smile. "One per visitor. You can purchase your own tubs further in."

"Tch. You're making me mad." Guzma shook his head. "And you know what happens when I get mad? Things start getting smashed," He slammed his fist on the stall, which made some of the cups jump up. "Real," He slammed his fist again. "Fast. Give me another, or the only thing you're gonna be giving samples of is splinters!"

"O-Okay." The farmhand snatched up a cup and held out to Guzma. "Here. Sir. Please, take it. My blessing." She said.

"Smart choice." Guzma smirked, downed the cup, and tossed it to the side before he walked back to Moon. She noticed him wincing as he walked, and behind him, the server shaking her head as she walked around the stall to pick up the discarded cups. "Tch."

"Brainfreeze?" Moon asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Guzma rubbed his forehead. "You go do it."

"Do what?"

"Go and get two cups." Guzma gestured in the direction of the stall as he sat on the bale of hay. "Order 'em around, smash something if you gotta. Let 'em know who's boss."

"That won't work." Moon said. "You're giant. I'm tiny. I can't scare her like that."

"I'm not a gym! Figure something out!" Guzma said. "But you're right, you don't look tough. Here, take off that jacket and put your hair down." He slipped out of his jacket and waited for Moon to do the same for hers, then handed her his. "Pull your hair back." He said, and she did as she was told. She could have drowned in Guzma's jacket, but at least it didn't drag on the ground. He looked at her for a moment, then took off his sunglasses and put them on her face. "Now you look like someone who won't take no crap. Go do it!"

"...stay here," Moon said to Type: Null, who nodded briefly. And she began the long process of walking over to the stall. She couldn't intimidate a farmhand. That woman probably spent half of her time lugging hay or riding horses; she could probably even have given Guzma a good run for his money, if what she heard about farmer strength was true. Even if she wasn't small, she was a kid, and...she didn't want to actually hurt her. Even if Guzma was trying not to, he was capable of it.

"Alola!" The farmhand greeted her. "Would you like to try one of our Moomoo Milk ice cream cups? It's only five hundred Pokédollars for a full tub, made fresh right here on Paniola Ranch."

Moon looked over the cups. She wasn't sure how to hold herself. She couldn't slouch, because growing up in Kanto had mostly drilled that out of her, and she'd just seem smaller. There wasn't anything to lean on. Was thinking about it too much the exact opposite of what she was trying to do? She bought herself time by taking one of the sample cups and slowly eating it with the little plastic spoon that had been stuck inside.

It was tasty. She'd have to get a tub to bring back to her mom either way, but she had a goal. Guzma wasn't exactly being the best teacher, but she had to do something. Maybe there was a way to get another cup without throwing weight around. At least, not her physical weight.

"I want another." Moon said, and forced herself to meet the woman's eyes. Her own were covered by the sunglasses, like armor for her anxiety.

"I'm sorry, little lady. One per visitor. You can come back tomorrow for another – we're doing this promotion all week!" The farmhand smiled sweetly.

"Really." Moon reached down to her waist and pulled out Doll. The Rotomdex's face lit up, but she gave an imperceptible shake of her head to quiet it down. She opened the browser and flicked to the first page. She held up the article announcing Alola's first champion. "Have you seen this?"

The farmhand leaned over to peer at the screen and nodded, smiling.

"Yes! What a talented young woman."

"Look closer." Moon said, then lowered her sunglasses to meet the woman's eyes. "Look familiar?"

The farmhand looked between the photo of Moon sitting in the Champion's throne, then at her, and realization dawned on her face. She grinned.

"You're the Champion!"

"Yeah." Moon smirked at her. Guzma did it a lot, so it was probably a good idea. "So. Second cup?"

"Absolutely!" The farmhand said, as she pushed one towards Moon. "I almost didn't recognize you with the hair. I can't believe it! Do you mind if I get a photo with you? My little sister wants to be a trainer just like you and she'll be so excited to hear..."

"Sure." Moon shrugged, as she ate a spoonful of her second cup. The farmhand dashed around the corner, crouched down a little, and took a photo of herself and Moon against the backdrop of the ranch.

"Thank you again! I'll make sure to have another cup set aside if you come tomorrow." The farmhand beamed, waving at Moon as she strolled away, back to the bale of hay where Guzma sat. She flashed him a smirk, more than pleased with herself.

"...doesn't count." Guzma said. "What kinda big bad boss asks nicely?"

"I didn't ask nicely," Moon folded her arms over her chest. "I didn't use any manners. And she gave it to me without getting scared of being hurt. Which is better. Because I'm not some giant guy. I can't do it like you do."

Guzma scowled at something off in the distance, then scratched his chin.

"Y'kow...you might be on to somethin'. You aren't getting bigger any time soon. If you got what it takes to follow through, we can see where this wind takes us. Act like being the champ makes you the biggest person in the room and people might start believin' it."

"Great." Moon nodded.

"Now give me my glasses." Guzma snatched them off of Moon's head and slid them back on his...not on, but pushed up to the crown of his head. "That's better. You can't just steal my style if you're gonna be your own boss."

"Okay." Moon nodded, then took of his jacket to replace her own. "Who dressed you?"

"Plumeria." Guzma said, then paused. "I mean, I did! Plumeria just gave some advice 's'all..."

"Can I get her to help?" Moon asked. She was nearby anyway – she couldn't have gotten very far from the Battle Royal Dome unless she used a Ride Pager, and something about the image of Plumeria in the safety gear didn't quite fit.

"Yeah." Guzma stood up to his full height. "We came here with a couple of old Team Skull goons. We go see 'em, she'll show up."


	16. Chapter 15

"So. Aren't you curious?" Moon asked, as she walked along Route 6 with Guzma on one side and Type: Null on her other. There wasn't too much foot traffic, which she was thankful for. No doubt there'd be an awkward conversation with one of the people who'd been at the Battle Royal Dome, but they must have taken Route 7, used their Ride Pagers, or just stuck around in Royal Avenue.

"'Bout what?" Guzma kicked a stone as he walked, his hands in his pockets and his gait just slow enough for Moon to keep up without having to jog.

"Type: Null." Moon peered ahead to one of the signs that lead the way down to Heahea City. It stood tall and proud, and would no doubt have helped many travelers, were it not for the fact that the Team Skull logo had been painted over it.

"I see one arrogant kid with one, I see another, who cares which one is which?" Guzma shrugged. The sign ahead had a stepladder set up beside it, with one boy stood at the top and one girl holding a pail beside him as he brushed the sign clean. It wasn't hard to spot a former member of Team Skull, not after how many of them Moon had to deal with, but without their masks they looked like any other punks.

Moon shot a glare at the man, but was content to cross the last of the distance to the former Skull goons in silence. Type: Null had been remarkably calm following the battle, and all of their walks so far. All of her time spent training it was already paying off, and she'd had enough experience with freshly-Evolved Pokemon to not let it get to a point where it could hurt her by not knowing its strength. The fact that it was following her commands was good, because it would probably have sensed her annoyance and tackled Guzma otherwise.

"Yo!" Guzma yelled at the two punks cleaning the sign. The boy on the stepladder was startled, wobbled on the ladder, and had to cling to the sign just to not fall right on his butt. "What's with you destroyin' that art?" He demanded.

"It's community service, Sir!" The girl replied, because the boy was still busy steadying himself on the ladder.

"I ain't your boss." Guzma shook his head. "So quit actin' like it. Where's Plumeria?"

"She hasn't come back yet, Si-Guzma!" The girl corrected herself. "We've done most of the signs here, but this graffiti is whack!"

"No wonder the Captains were aggravated by our misconduct, bro." The boy on the sign said, as he scrubbed the sign as hard as his fingers would allow. "This paint is proving itself an obstacle difficult to surmount even with the proper chemicals and hard work one would normally expect sufficient to remove such simple vandalism, yo!"

"...what?!" Guzma scowled like he'd been slapped in the face.

"The paint's hard to get off." Moon said.

"Tch! I knew that!" Guzma crossed his arms over his chest. "Y'think I'm stupid or somethin'?"

"You asked."

"You wanna get beaten down?" Guzma turned his gaze onto Moon. The punk on the sign leaned over to watch while the girl set down her pail.

"Do you?" Moon asked. She wasn't paying attention to the two punks, but rather Guzma's eyes.

"You think you've got what it takes to put down Guzma?" Guzma put his hands on his hips.

"I did." Moon held up her hand. "One," She raised a finger. "Two," Another. "Three," Another. "Four times!" She held up the last. And she remembered getting more and more confident with each victory. Professor Kukui had been with her for the first, but the second was when she knew she'd always be able to beat the big bad Guzma. "Wanna make it five?" She extended her thumb. "'Cause then I'll have a whole hand to smack you with."

The punks' eyed widened to either side and Guzma shook his head with a smirk.

"Yeah, that was pretty good. But so what? Being clever ain't enough to put down Guzma, and it ain't enough to stop me putting you on your rear."

"You have no control over my butt." Moon said. It was stupider than she'd have liked, but she'd already started and she wasn't going to stop. "I sat on your throne in Po Town. And the one at the top of Mount Lanakila. Where were you sitting, huh? Somewhere for me to come and kick your butt. Again." The punks were looking at her. She couldn't back down.

"Tch!" Guzma leaned over, his face right in front of Moon's. "You think just 'cause you beat me before you can do it again? You can come at me as many times as you want, but I'll still be big bad Gu-" His face twitched to the side as Moon slapped him across the cheek. The crack echoed across the route, the two punks gasped, and he slowly twisted his head back to meet Moon's eyes. His eye was twitching.

"You can't touch me." Moon said. It was hard for her to keep her voice down. But she didn't want to shout. Not when she was winning. "I'm the Champ." She let her hand fall back to her side. It was stinging. "You're just another jerk I beat."

Guzma stared at Moon's face. The seconds stretched on and on. She wasn't sure whether she'd done the right thing, or whether she'd actually gone one step too far. There was only the waiting to see wht his reaction would be.

"Hey, champ." A familiar voice came from behind Moon. She didn't look away from Guzma until she felt the presence right beside her and glanced to see a lanky frame, with long pink and yellow hair and a bandana wrapped around her head. "You pickin' on Guzma?"

"He asked for it." Moon said. The sight of Plumeria standing there, as casual as ever, did something to relieve the tension from the air. Guzma stood back to his full height, rubbing his cheek as he did.

"I bet he did." The faintest of smiles pulled at Plumeria's lips. "You good, Guzma?"

"Yeah." Guzma shrugged. "Just teachin' this kid how to look tough in front of the goons." He rubbed the side of his face. "Coulda done without the slap." Moon narrowed her eyes at the man. Some part of her doubted that he was clever enough to set her up like that...but you couldn't become as good a Trainer as he was without being a little clever.

"Yeah, seems like she needs it." Plumeria reached out and ruffled Moon's hair. "Thanks for the battle, I guess." Moon didn't like her hair being tussled, but she suddenly felt like fatigued. The argument must have taken more out of her than she'd thought, and now all that adrenaline was fading away. "You ran out before the prize pool, y'know. You've got a few thousand Pokédollars waiting for you at the Dome."

"My mom will get it." Moon said.

"Hmph. Guess so." Plumeria said. "I got second place, so what do y'all say to some malasadas on me?" She looked over Guzma and the goons.

"Yeah, why not?" Guzma said.

"Sure!" Answered the girl.

"Certainly, yo!" Answered the boy.

"You can come, too." Plumeria looked to Moon. "You look like you need the energy. I know I would with this guy trying to teach me." She tapped the back of her hand on Guzma's shoulder with a little more force than necessary.

Moon looked between the two adults, the punks at the sign, and nodded slowly. They had gone there to meet Plumeria, after all.

"Cool." Plumeria bobbed her head, then shot a glance at the punks. "But not until you're done cleaning that sign. Double time, or the champ's gonna smack you twice as hard as she did Guzma."

Moon didn't think she would, but the punks hurried all the same.


	17. Chapter 16

Moon sat with her legs hanging over the pier, looking out at the midday sea with Type: Null sat beside her. She hadn't had plans for the day, but sitting alongside Guzma while waiting for Plumeria to arrive with lunch wouldn't have come up, even if she had.

There was a little whistle from behind them and both of their heads turned to see Plumeria strolling up with a box of malasadas in her hand. She sat down between them, her lanky legs dangling way past Moon's, and passed one of the doughy treats to Guzma, one to Moon, and left two for herself. She casually tossed a Pokepuff to Type: Null. It hit the Pokemon's helmet, then fell the floor.

"...not hungry, huh?" Plumeria glanced at its Trainer.

"Type: Null only has a little space for food." Moon picked up the Pokepuff with her free hand and Type: Null gratefully nibbled at it.

"Hey! How come you get two?" Guzma asked, his eyes jealously boring into the box.

"My money, my food, and my choice." Plumeria said.

"Who needs the fuel?" Guzma puffed out his chest. "It's your bo-" He was interrupted by a small chunk of malasada being tossed at his face.

"Eat your damn lunch, Guzma." Plumeria glanced at Moon. "So, you decided to take on Guzma as your teacher, huh? What do you hope to learn from this guy?"

"How to be tough. I guess." Moon took a bite out of her malasada. It was as delicious as any others she'd tasted, but it was hard to go wrong with fried dough.

"'Cause of the crowds, right? You always freeze up like a winter Bounsweet?"

"Yeah." Moon wouldn't have expected herself to answer so readily, but Plumeria seemed interested in a way she hadn't expected. She could almost believe she cared. All of the grunts must have, from the way they talked about her.

"Yeah, that's not how you do it."

"Hey!" Guzma frowned. He had already devoured his malasada and was sucking his fingertips clean. "You tryin' to steal my student?"

"You don't know how to teach someone, Guzma. Maybe you could, if you tried to learn how, but you can't now and she's gonna suffer if she does what you tell her. You've already got her slapping you in the face, and where's that gonna lead, huh?"

"A kid who can take what's thrown at 'em and hit back harder." Guzma said.

"Hmph. You think so? 'Cause I think she'll just end up a mini-Guzma without any friends but me."

"I wouldn't be like Guzma." Moon scowled at the last half of her meal.

"You can be like him without being him. You think Guzma doesn't think the people he used to hit deserved it?" Plumeria raised a cropped eyebrow at the younger girl. "There's a whole mess of things there that you don't want get into. What you wanna do is find out what your goal is and how to get there. So why do you want to be like Guzma?"

"The crowds. I already said that."

"Yeah? How will being big bad Moon help?"

"I…" Moon bit her lip as she considered the question. "People won't bother me as much. I guess. And I'll know what to do."

"Yeah, nobody will bother you 'cause you're a jerk and you'll just keep doing it." Plumeria shook her head. "You've got a good start, but you're going about it the wrong way. If you do what Guzma says and believe in it, you're just gonna be like him. What you should be doin' is doing what Guzma says when you don't believe it."

"...what?"

"You put on an act." Plumeria summarized. "But only when you need to. When you're at an event, be big bad Moon. Insult people, be a jerk, act like being the Champ makes you better than everyone. That's cool. People won't like it, but you'll get more challengers that way, so whatever, right? If you feel yourself getting angry, don't act on it – think about what big bad Moon would do, and do that, not what you wanna do. Or soon your slaps will be yours and not your character's."

"I don't get it." Moon scratched her head. Guzma seemed to be thinking much the same.

"When you're at an event, have a persona. When you're not, just be you, whatever you're like. And don't let 'em mix. If people hate your persona – who cares? It's not you. You're still going home to your family and your friends and doing whatever."

"So...don't act like Guzma." Moon said. "Except when I'm acting."

Plumeria nodded.

"But I still have to learn from him. To act like it."

"Yeah." Plumeria said. "Just put some distance between what you're doing then and who you are normally. You're putting on a show, not changing who you are. Ask that Professor about how he puts on a persona – or better yet, how other wrestlers do it. You wanna be a heel. Tell him that."

"Heel. Got it." Moon nodded. "Is it okay to tell people I'm doing that?"

"Sure. Like I said, it's about performing, and if you're performing in front of your friends, you're doing it wrong." Plumeria said. "And Guzma can teach you all about how to act like a jerk, as long as you only do it then."

"Is that okay, Guzma?" Moon asked. She wouldn't normally do that, but if he disagreed with Plumeria, the whole plan they'd just laid out wouldn't work.

"...tch. Plumeria's got the right idea most of the time, so whatever." Guzma said. "But if you're not gonna slap anyone, you don't get to slap me, either."

"That's fair. Okay." Moon nodded, then looked at Plumeria. "Will having an outfit help? Professor Kukui said it would. And Guzma said I need to look tough. And that you helped with the Team Skull uniform."

"Yeah, I'll help." Plumeria said. "As long as you take it easy on my brothers and sisters. They're trying to make up for stuff, so you'd better not start harassing them."

"I wasn't planning to..." Moon said. Not that she even needed to harass them. Most of them knew to be wary when she came around.

"Cool. There's a clothes store here. Let's do it." Plumeria got to her feet. "Guzma, make sure the guys get around to their afternoon service. This could take a while."

"Yeah, yeah." Guzma rolled his eyes. "Get out of here before I start eyein' that malasada."

Plumeria picked the last one out of the box, then shoved the whole thing into her mouth and tossed the box at Guzma.

"Let's go."


	18. Chapter 17

"The first thing we've got to deal with is that hair." Plumeria said, as they walked along the sidewalk on the way to the clothes store. It wasn't going to be a long walk.

"It's because of Ultra Space stuff." Moon said.

"...cool?" Plumeria remarked. "But you can't have a streak of white on the black without styling; you'll just look like you don't know what you're doing. So you're going to have to dye the whole thing white until it's all that way. We can sort out the style later." Then they came up to the door and she strolled inside, for just a few steps before noticing that Moon hadn't followed.

"Stay here." Moon told Type: Null. The Pokemon took a long stare inside the store, then let out a little grunt and sat itself beside the door. Something told her that it wasn't going to look very inviting for anyone else who wanted to visit, but it was better than knocking over all the displays with its tail.

"So, you like suits?" Plumeria asked once Moon had joined her in the cool interior.

"They're okay." Moon shrugged. "I didn't want to look like any kid." She gave a little tug to the jacket she was wearing. "And I don't like dresses."

"Yeah, why's that?" Plumeria started to walk along the aisle, and Moon hustled to her side.

"You don't know what they're gonna do. They flop around. And you get a breeze on your thighs. Same for skirts. They look good on some people." Lillie. "But not me."

"Tomboy energy, right." Plumeria clucked her tongue. "Well, if you want to wear suits, we can do that. If you're going to copy Guzma, you might as well copy Team Skull too. That's gonna annoy even more people, but, you know that you don't like Team Skull, so it'll be easier to keep it separate. What do you think, black and white your style? Your hair's already in on it."

"I guess." Moon stopped herself from frowning. She didn't like people analyzing her like she was something to be studied. But it was helping her, so she could deal with it.

"It'll be different, don't worry. You won't find one of our grunts in something fancy." Plumeria gave Moon a once-over. "Black boots, black pants, black jacket...no, too boring. And stuffy in the heat, even with linen. How do you feel about bolero?"

"Bolawhat?"

"It's a jacket, but shorter and it doesn't close." Plumeria explained, as she grabbed one such jacket off of the rack and held it up to Moon's chest. "We'll have to get the whole thing fitted so you don't look like a kid playing dress-up, but it can work. What do you think?" She asked, and pointed to a conveniently-nearby mirror.

"It's nice." Moon nodded. She was used to the heat, not immune to it, and Professor Kukui at least had the right idea in that going shirtless meant he didn't have to deal with the heat. "But...boring?"

"Hmph. Boring how?"

"It's still a suit with a t-shirt." Moon pointed out. "One that's a bit different. But, yeah."

"And the boots, don't forget. But your point's made." Plumeria hung the jacket back up. "It's the undershirt that'll tie it together. We can go for a cowl neck top – it's like a normal one, but it's baggy around the neck. Blouses are even more boring, but you can do that if you want."

"I don't know." Moon looked over all of the clothes stacked around them. She didn't have a mind for fashion. That was exactly the problem."

"Well, what do they wear in Kanto?" Plumeria asked. "If you can get something from there, even better. You'll stand out more, which is just what you want when you're the champ."

Moon threw her mind back. She didn't like most of the traditional clothes from Kanto – they were too much like dresses. Hakama, kimonos, too much air around her and not enough control. She could handle a casual yukata and the shoes weren't so bad, but she couldn't make a top out of a yukata. She searched her mind for something that might fit, through things she'd seen models wear, gym leaders, to delinquents and the trainers of old…

"A sarashi." Moon said.

"A what?"

"It's a long cloth. You wrap it around your chest. It looks like bandages." Moon fumbled for her phone and within a few taps had examples all over the screen. "Trainers used to wear them. And people who want to look tough. I could wear it under the jacket."

"That's pretty good." Plumeria smiled as she nodded. "I can see it already. You'll have to order it, 'cause they don't have them here. Let me find something similar and we can see how it'll look. Preview kind of thing." And then she did just that, eventually finding a far-too-long white scarf and tossing it to Moon before she headed into the dressing room. She had to quickly look up how to tie a sarashi before she started.

Moon stepped out in the prototype of her outfit. The black boots and pants fit as well as they had earlier, while the sarashi was wrapped around her entire torso, complete with some wraps around her shoulder, and the look was finished with the black bolero jacket. She looked at herself and wondered what someone else might think.

"Looks good." Plumeria said. "But it needs a little more. Some gloves, for one – fingerless, helps with the attitude. Any ideas?"

"Masks are popular in Kanto. Surgical ones." Moon said. She used to wear them to help deal with her shyness, though she hadn't had to wear one since the start of her journeys in Alola. And Kukui did think that wearing a mask would help her, which was still a good recommendation even if the full lucha one hadn't helped. "We can do it like the Team Skull bandanas."

"Yeah, we can try it. That'll do it for clothes, but now we've got to think about your hair." Plumeria clucked her tongue. "Undercut. That's short on the back, shaved at the sides, long on the top, going down to about bob length."

Moon ran a hand through her hair. Some part of her didn't want to let go of it so easily, especially not outright shaving it. But Plumeria had helped her so far, and the hairdresser would probably advise her against something terrible.

"Okay. I'll do that. I think that's it." Moon said. Unless they were going to start picking out her socks, anyway.

"Yeah. You've got that champion money to pay for the whole thing, don't you?" Plumeria put a hand on her hip. "Well, let me know how it works out. I wanna see the whole thing when it's set up."

"Um. Okay. I don't have your number." Moon pointed out. She didn't have Guzma's, either, but it wasn't like he'd be hard to find.

"Here." Plumeria tugged her phone out and flashed her number. "And if you've got anything else you wanna talk about...hit me up or whatever. Same goes for your girlfriend."

Moon wanted to question Plumeria's sudden compassion, but then her mind had to get derailed by the fact that Plumeria had identified her relationship with Lillie.

"How did you know about that?"

"You think I don't know what young love looks like?" Plumeria rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't believe the romantic drama that comes up when you've gotta manage a whole team of grunts. You'd have an easier time taming a Legendary Pokemon." She paused. "...but look who I'm talking to, of course you would."

"Well." Moon crossed her arms over her chest. "I am really good. It's your champ, Moon!"

Moon did her best not to blush when Plumeria burst out laughing.


	19. Chapter 18

The packages had been waiting on Moon's desk since yesterday. The suit she'd gone to get fitted for at the Hao'uli Mall, the sarashi and some spares imported from Celadon City, and the mask custom-made by Plumeria herself.

It was the start of a new day, the one where Moon would get to try on her proper Champion's outfit for the first time and try her new persona without Guzma hovering around the corner. She'd already had her hair done the day before, and it actually wasn't terrible. She'd felt a little lighter and a little bit cooler, by both definitions of the word. But the outfit was still the second most important thing she was going to do that day.

Moon went through her custom morning routine, including showering with a Primarina/Salazzle two-punch. She might have preferred a proper shower to feel truly fresh, but she wanted Type: Null to get used to her other Pokemon and there was no better way to do it than exposure. She brushed her teeth, added some Plumeria-suggested product to her hair, and opened the packages with a quiet determination. She wasn't just going to be the champ; she was going to look it, too.

After another quick check of how to put on a sarashi and some fiddling with the boots (Mom wouldn't mind them being worn in the house if they were brand new), she was ready. Moon looked over herself in the mirror. It looked good. It felt good. But if she was going to eat breakfast, the mask wouldn't do her any good, so she tucked it into her pocket and turned to Type: Null.

"What do you think?"

Type: Null's expression was always hard to read, on account of most of its head being hidden behind a helmet.

"I think it looks great, Master!" Doll chirped from her belt.

"Thanks." Moon inhaled. "...if Mom laughs, I'll die. I leave all my stuff to Lillie."

"Noted, Master!"

"C'mon." Moon waved Type: Null to follow her as she strolled through the door Guzma had told her all about how to walk with swagger, although she didn't have the physical presence to match his. It had taken a visit to a particularly stylish veteran who lived in Malie City to find a walk that suited her, and she settled for something confident, but understated. Unlike Guzma's constant need to take up a room, she had to act like she already owned it.

Not that she expected Mom to believe the act, but remembering to walk properly was one of the more difficult parts and she wasn't going to give up practice for when she went up against stairs. Falling over would not befit a Champion.

Mom was sitting at the breakfast table, beside a bowl of fruit salad with another set on the opposite side. Tanahasi the Meowth's tail could just be spotted around the corner of the kitchen counter, no doubt devouring his breakfast; The woman smiled widely as she saw Moon enter the main room.

"Good morning, dear." Mom said. "It's a good thing you have Type: Null with you, or I'd think some delinquent had broken in. A very pretty one, but still. Tanahashi would be a hail of claws and teeth." There was a grumble of agreement from the feasting Meowth.

"Thanks!" That did the world of good to make Moon more confident in her image. Type: Null went to its bowl while she sat at the other side of the breakfast table, leaning back with one arm on the table and one leg resting on the other. Sitting was just as important as walking, according to Guzma. She popped a slice of apple into her mouth and raised an eyebrow at Mom. "How long until Lillie calls?"

"I don't think it will be long now." Mom assured her. "I've set up the camera and everything. Are you sure you're okay with having me in the room? I don't want to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend. And she's bound to be sleepy, with how early it is over there..."

"So?"

"So if she lets slip about how much she wants to give you kisses..." Mom trailed off. "Well, it's a little more likely if she's tired, and I don't want to embarrass her."

"It," Moon blushed. "It should be fine. She knows you're here."

"And under-dressed!" Mom laughed as she smoothed out her top. Just as she did so, there was a ringing sound from the TV. "Here she is." She picked up the remote. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Moon steeled her resolve. If she liked it, and Plumeria liked it, and her mom liked it, then Lillie would too. Probably.

"Are you sure?"

"Push the button!"

"Alright, alright." Mom smiled as she pushed the button and Lillie's face suddenly filled the screen. Her hair was obviously freshly-brushed, and she was wrapped in pajamas as well as a fluffy bathrobe around her shoulders. Once again, Moon could see Lusamine in the background, though she was wrapped up on a proper bed, along with some steam rising from the coffee mug just beside the girl.

"Good mor-Moon!" Lillie's sleepy eyes suddenly widened at the sight of Moon clad in her Champion's outfit. "Moon?"

"Yeah." Moon gave a little wave to the camera. Her stomach was twisting around itself, but she wasn't going to let it show. It was just momentary surprise. It had to be. "Hey, you."

"You look so different..." Lillie gasped, then her eyes went to Mom. "Oh, sorry, Mrs...Ms..." She frowned. "I don't know your name! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it." Mom laughed. "Why don't you show your new outfit off, Moon? Lillie seems impressed so far."

"Okay." Moon shrugged and tossed a cherry into her mouth as she stood up. The camera was capturing most of the table, including her mom and herself, so she didn't need to get too close to give Lillie a good view of herself. She adjusted her jacket a little, then struck The Pose. The Pose wasn't much more than a hand on her hip and a smirk, but she'd watched a dozen clips of a Unovan model doing something similar to get it just right.

"Oh...wow..." Lillie stared at Moon until her cheeks turned pink. "O-Oh! You look amazing, Moon! With your hair and your..." She bit her bottom lip. "So cool… N-Now I know how you felt when I got my z-powered form..." She giggled.

As if Lillie's reaction wasn't enough to make her cheeks turn redder than Incineroar, the memories of how she'd barely been able to talk when she'd seen how beautiful Lillie was in her new outfit flooded her head.

"Y-Yeah." Moon nodded. "I, uh. I'm cool now. It's a thing I'm trying."

"You're always cool." Lillie smiled, and Moon returned it. It felt like she'd been dumb to ever doubt it in the first place.

"S-So." Moon said. "Is your training going good?"

"I'm trying really hard!" Lillie held up a determined fist. "And I'm not winning all the time...but I'm going to keep trying until I am! Lots of the trainers here are saying that I'm better than I should be...but I guess I must have gotten some of your talent from watching you battle so much."

"I bet most of it's 'cause of you being good." Moon said. Of course Lillie would have learned some techniques from her, but that was far from enough to make someone a good trainer. "You're brave and smart and you don't give up. And you're doing well even though you have to take care of Lusamine."

"Thank you..."

"Is she doing okay?" Moon asked. She didn't think much of the woman, but Lillie cared, so she did, too.

"The scientist we found did some scans on mother, as well as some tests, but we don't know the details until he's gone through them. I'm ready to go back when he calls again." Lillie said. "But...he's hopeful. And she can talk more now. She, um, asked about you."

"She did? What did she ask?"

"About how we met. I told her all about how you saved Nebby, and how we talked about things, and...stuff." Lillie lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think she knows about us. I don't know how she knows."

"Mother's intuition?" Mom suggested. She'd been happily watching and nibbling on her breakfast.

"O-Oh!" Both girls suddenly remembered that Moon's mom was present. "That would explain it, but...she sleeps through most of the day."

"It still works." Mom laughed. "And just from hearing what happened...well, it's hardly a subtle aspect of your journey together, is it? I was expecting you to kiss before you got to Ula'ula." Moon had never thought of her mom as cruel, but the way her smile grew at the sight of both of their blushes made the young girl have second thoughts.

"M-Moon!" Lillie said. "You told her?!"

"Wh-What?" Moon stared. "We didn't kiss until Exeggcutor Island!"

"Oh, so that's when it happened." Mom sighed happily. "Thank you, Lillie. I never would have known otherwise."

Lillie blinked rapidly. Moon stared at her mother with her mouth gaping open. If either of their reactions affected Mom, she didn't let it show, as she took a sip of her fruit juice and winked at the pair.

"And I'm never even been a President, so just imagine how much more Lusamine can get out of you."

Lillie stared off to the side, as though contemplating the older woman's words.

"S-So." Moon decided to interrupt that train of thought before it ran Lillie over. "Tell me about your battles. We can talk tips and stuff."

"...okay." Lillie nodded firmly. "My last battle was against someone who used a lot of Bugs..."


	20. Chapter 19

Moon was once more stood in the Battle Royal Dome. The difference was that she knew exactly what she was in for. There wouldn't be a surprise speech at the end, there wasn't even going to be a battle; it was going to be The Masked Royal knowing what was going to happen, the interviewer doing the same, and all of them working together to make sure that she made the best first impression she could.

And then there was Guzma. He was stood on the other side of her to Type: Null, watching The Masked Royal through the window to the office that would serve as her stage.

"Remember, don't let 'em pin you down." Guzma said. "Wriggle out of it or punch back, don't let 'em think they've got a chance. Don't even think there is. Got it?"

"I know." Moon nodded and pulled up her mask. She was fully in her persona, and she was ready to go at any moment. All she had to do was wait for the signal, an-The Masked Royal tugged on his goatee. It was time. She looked up to Guzma and waved him to the side. He stepped away, leaving her with a free path to the door. She turned the handle, pushed the door open, and walked inside with Type: Null on her heels. "I'm here for my interview."

The cameraman turned to her as she entered, then backed away to get her and the Masked royal on camera.

"Excuse me?" The interviewer raised a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow at Moon as she strolled inside. "This isn-"

"What?" Moon interrupted.

"This interview is w-"

"Is with the biggest Battle Royal star." Moon said, and Doll hovered away from her pocket to hover in the air. Their screen showed the live feed of the interview, with the title 'Exclusive Interview with the Battle Royal's Biggest Star!'. She pointed at it. "That's me."

"Not so fast, cousin!" The Masked Royal got to his feet and puffed out his chest. "I'm willing to hear you out, yeah, but what makes you think you've got the right to that title?"

"Oh." Moon scratched her head as she covered the distance between them and met his gaze. "You're actually disputing this. Cute." She pulled the chair out from behind him, then sat down on it and crossed her legs. The room was already hers, that was what she had to believe. "I beat you. Twice." Beside her, Doll hovered and showed clips of Moon's victories at the Battle Royal Dome. "Maybe you were a star, once. Until I plucked you out of the sky."

"You've got a point there, yeah," The Masked Royal put his hands on his hips. "You're pretty good! But it takes more than two wins to be a star!"

"Really." Moon said, flatly.

"Yeah! You've got to show heart, fight in the Dome day after day, have-"

"Bigger teats than a Miltank?" Moon said with a self-satisfied smugness. That had actually been Guzma's line, and she wasn't entirely sold on it, but The Masked Royal had at least laughed the first time he heard it. "You have a mask. You have too many muscles. But I'm the one with the winstreak. I'm undefeated. Not just in this Dome, but everywhere, and I've beaten you enough. You're lucky I didn't take your name, 'cause really, without winning, you're just The Masked."

The Masked Royal shook his head, a grimace visible on what little of his face was exposed.

"If that's how you're going to go about it, then I have no choice but to challenge you, yeah!" He extended a finger to point at the seated Champion. "Right here, right n-"

"Nah." Moon shook her head. "I've got an interview and a schedule." She reached into her pocket to retrieve a small black book, then spent her sweet time flicking through the pages. It was all part of the act. Be just aggravating enough that people wanted to see her get beaten. "I was gonna scrape the mud off my shoes next week. But I guess I can just do that on your face. See you then."

"Woo! You're on!" The Masked Royal flashed his biggest grin.

"...get out of my interview." Moon nudged her head at the door and the Masked Royal gave one last grin at the camera before doing just that.

"Well." The interviewer adjusted her blouse. "I suppose we'd better get on with the interview. Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"You know who I am." Moon laughed. It was literally true, because they'd met in the hall not an hour before, but the point was to be arrogant. "I'm the first Champion of Alola," She held up a finger. "Sorry. Got that wrong. The first, and only, Champion of Alola. There aren't going to be any after me."

"And your name?"

"Champion." Moon said as she relaxed back into her chair. "But I like you, so you can call me Champ." She winked.

"Very well, Champ." The interviewer cleared her throat. "I had prepared notes for The Masked Royal, but I suppose we'll have to make do. How do you feel about being the first Champion of Alola?"

"So good." Moon said. It was more of a great plateau of pride followed by a lot of anxiety about her first public speech, but she wasn't about to share that particular tidbit. "I get paid more than anyone. And I don't even have to defend my championship. Unless someone beats the Trials, and then the Elite Four, and how often is that gonna happen?"

"So...would you say that money is the best part of being Champion?"

"Nah." Moon shook her head. "The best thing is being the best. Everyone knows it. You know it, I know it, everyone watching knows it. I'm the best in the world."

"Bold words from the Champion." The interviewer said. "But surely there are some who disagree. What would you say to them?"

"Fight me." Moon said. "That's it. Beat the Trials. Beat the Elite Four. Then fight me. If you're the best, try it. If you know someone who's the best, tell them to try it. You'll lose," She laughed. "But that's not my problem, is it?"

"It seems we've had a few responses already." The interviewer said, as she referred to the device laid out on her lap. "Will you take a few comments from our viewers?"

"Eh. Fine." Their response would tell her how well she was doing. She'd have to deal with them one way or the other. But the Champ didn't care.

"Veteran Lynn says 'What an arrogant child. I think I could humble her'." The interviewer read out. "What do you think, Champ?"

"Lynn… Lemme check something." Moon pulled out her little black book and flipped through a few pages. She dragged her finger down it, then tapped the page. "Yeah, I beat her already. Vast Poni Canyon."

"You keep a record of your battles?" The interviewer's eyes widened.

"Yeah. I need to know who's worth my time." Moon shrugged. Doll was the one who'd actually kept the records, for the purpose of reminiscing, but The Masked Royal had suggested the book as a prop and it hadn't taken long to copy them down.

"Well...do you think that Lynn raises a good point?" The interviewer asked. "You are very young for a Champion, aren't you?"

"So what?" Moon said. "That just means I'm gonna keep getting better. With every day, I get a little better." She looked right into the camera. "Here's a message for you, Lynn. In ten years, I'm still gonna be the Champ. I'll have ten years of battling. Ten years of training. Ten years of raising Pokemon. And not even a sliver of my life will have gone. You're just gonna be older. You'll think a little slower, you'll move a little more carefully, your hair's gonna be grayer. In twenty, I'll still be Champ, and you'll nearly be gone. In thirty, your grandkids might come to face me, and guess what, Lynn?"

Moon pulled down her mask to smirk at the camera.

"I'll beat them too."


	21. Chapter 20

There were few things more exhausting than a performance, Moon decided, as she emerged from the interview with sagging shoulders. Even with all of the planning they'd done, even with everyone being in on it, even with...she looked at the clock. Ten minutes had passed since she interrupted The Masked Royal's interview. Only ten minutes and she had less energy than when she'd beaten the Elite Four.

But she wasn't free yet. Guzma was waiting for her, perched on a crate, while The Masked Royal leaned against a wall. The former was making a pointed effort in not acknowledging the latter.

"Not bad, kid." Guzma hopped off of the crate. "You almost had me believin' it."

"Woo! Not bad? That was great!" The Masked Royal gave a hearty thumbs-up. "People are gonna be talking about it from Akala to Ula'ula, oh yeah! I wasn't expecting the questions, but you nailed it, cousin."

"Thanks." Moon said, as Type: Null stepped up beside her. She wanted to keep her mask on for a little longer. Her reserves of social energy were tapped out.

The Masked Royal gave her a look, then reached into one of his armbands and retrieved a _Pokédollar_ note.

"I always get myself a snack after a performance, but you look like you need it more, cousin. There's a vending machine down the corner with lots of tasty treats, oh yeah!" He held the note out and Moon gently took it.

"Thanks." She said again, then started to walk off down the hall.

"Yo. I'll go with." Guzma said.

"No thanks." Moon said, as she shuffled down the hall.

"Tch." Guzma shook his head. "I didn't wanna go anyway." He gave one look at The Masked Royal, then stalked off in the opposite direction.

Moon found the machine at the end of a hallway, an exit to her right and an entrance to the stage on her left. She looked over the vending machine and punched in the codes for two things – a candy bar for herself and a Pokepuff for Type: Null. She glanced at either of the doors, then slumped against the wall and sank to the floor. Type: Null sat beside her, accepting its treat, and she leaned her body against it.

What she really wanted was somebody to hug. If Mom were there, or Lillie…

She took a bite out of her candy bar like and chewed it lazily. She'd done well, she knew she had, and everyone would say so. But all that meant was that she had a lot of more of it to do. She'd have to battle Professor Kukui in the persona. She had to make other appearances, for practice. And at the end of it all, she'd have to make a public speech, with a live audience right in front of her, and actually deal with the consequences of her persona.

As it was, she didn't really know how much people would dislike her persona. They were separated from her by a screen. She hoped that the boos wouldn't get to her, but she knew that at least some of them would, until she got used to it. She'd have to make sure her Mom was around. And all of her Pokemon. And maybe a video call from Lillie. And the Guardian Deities, just in case.

She crumpled her candy wrapper up and tossed it into the garbage, and reluctantly pulled herself to her feet with the help of handfuls of Type: Null's fur. Her changing room wasn't far away and changing into her regular clothes was her best hope for refreshment. That was meant to be part of the value of her persona, wasn't it? Maybe the Champion's reserves had ran out, but Moon's hadn't. Probably.

She changed out of her Champion's outfit and tucked it all away as neatly as she could be bothered to. All of it was expensive, which meant she couldn't just throw it into a bag and hope for the best. She changed into her spare clothes, which amounted to a pair of shorts, some socks with sneakers, a light top and a baggy hoodie she could wrap herself up in. She looked at herself in the mirror, then pulled on her sunglasses and a hat to go with it.

Her hair would have been enough to let anyone know who she was, but she could deal with people recognizing her most of the time. As long as she wasn't dressed up as her persona, everyone but kids would be able to figure out that she wasn't performing. Maybe that'd even have some benefits as she went about her life – fewer people wanting her to say hello, or chat with them, sign autographs…

Not that she hated all of that. But she didn't have the vigor for it.

Moon reached for the door that would take her back into the world and realized that she hadn't made any plans for the rest of her day. She'd planned to chat with Lillie, then plan her interview, then do the interview, and then there was nothing. She'd have to get around to training her team some more, which would go better if one of the Trial Captains was available. And Type: Null was really starting to settle in with the rest of her team.

But she didn't want to visit anyone too extroverted. That ruled out Kiawe, Mallow, and Sophocles, who were all exuberant in their own ways. Ilima was probably busy with his duties, at the school or otherwise, and she'd already spent up Mina's time when Professor Kukui asked her to make the Lunala mask that she'd ended up not using. Her mom had taken it to get it framed, so it wouldn't go totally to waste, but still…

That left Lana and Acerola. Moon stared at the wall as she considered which of the girls to visit. And then the answer became crystal clear.

After all, Acerola was the one most likely to give her a hug.


	22. Chapter 21

Tapu Village was one of Moon's favorite towns in Alola. It wasn't very big and it wasn't very fancy, but it had a somber air that felt just right to her. She could imagine sitting on one of the cliffs and watching the sea for hours, if she ever felt like it. That hadn't changed since she became the Champion – the fact that Mount Lanakila loomed overhead only made it feel more like home.

She grunted as she slid off of the Charizard and tucked her ride gear away. Type: Null had gotten used to her enough that she could put it away in a Pokeball and not have to take a boat to get around, but she didn't want to keep it away for too long. Not after it had spent its whole life in confinement. So she let it out, briefly smiled at the Pokemon, and set off along the dirt path to the village proper. Type: Null didn't wander so far, now that it trusted her to know where they were going, but she had a feeling its wariness wasn't going to fade any time soon.

Her first sight was the stone totems that stood along the path, worn by decades of salt-scented wind, and then the walls that lead to the village proper. It wasn't much more than a few houses and a Pokecenter, with another path leading out to the trailers that held some of the town's population whose homes had been ruined by Tapu Bulu. Somewhere along the way was where she expected to find Acerola, with lunch having just passed and the ghosts always trying to play havoc along Route 14.

That gave her an idea. She could get some training done and help Acerola with her Ghost-wrangling at the same time. If she could find her.

There were a few people moving around in the village, either leaving the Pokecenter with its little cafe or heading out along the routes. None of them paid her much mind, disguised as she was, although Type: Null got the usual curios glances. One thing she'd learned through all of her experiences as a socially awkward child was that the more she looked like she didn't want to talk to anyone, the less people wanted to talk to her.

So she kept her head down until she reached the point where the trailers were in view and spotted Acerola skipping along the path. Skipping might have been a generous word for it, as she seemed to be weighed down by a backpack slung over her slight shoulders and another small one clutched in her fingers. Moon smiled softly, wondering whether she should interrupt the other girl's jolly journey, when the choice was stolen from her.

"Moon!" Acerola called out and crossed the distance between them a little more slowly than Moon would have liked. The moments between someone noticing her and the time conversation actually started were always the most awkward. Should she have spoken as soon as they noticed her? Waited and seemed rude? Ran away? "Aue! It's so nice to see you!"

"Hi." Moon lifted her hand to perform the Alolan greeting, then realized Acerola wouldn't be able to reciprocate with her hands full, and adjusted her sunglasses instead. "What's that noise?"

"What noise?" Acerola asked, with a feline smile gracing her lips.

"That. Uh." Moon looked to either side to make sure nobody was around. "Aue!"

"I'm simply pleased and surprised. That's what it means." Acerola giggled. "I didn't expect to see you in Tapu Village today."

"I just thou-" Moon paused. "How did you know it's me?" She wouldn't have recognized herself, she was so bundled up.

"How could I not recognize the champion?" Acerola gasped. "I'd be ashamed if I let you walk past without a hello! But I really need to get back to Aether House...do you want to walk with me?"

"Yeah." Moon nodded. "Want some help?"

"Oh, yes please!" Acerola passed the bag to Moon, waited until she had it, then lunged forward and wrapped her up in a hug. Moon froze for a second, then relented. Acerola was as sweet a person as she'd met, and frankly, she needed it. So she accepted the warmth and returned the hug with her free arm. They stayed like that for a few moments before Acerola pulled back, smiling brightly.

"Thanks." Moon blushed a little. Something told her that Acerola knew she needed it.

"That's the Moon I know." Acerola smiled as she started walking, which suited Moon just fine. She didn't feel like skipping, no matter how pleased she was with the hug. "You didn't seem yourself earlier, you know!"

"Oh. You watched?" Moon glanced at the girl. She knew that Acerola was smart enough to pick up on it being an act, but she wasn't entirely confident that she wouldn't be judged for it all the same.

"All of Aether House did! It was meant to be The Masked Royal." Acerola said. "He's very popular here."

"What did you think?"

"It was fun!" Acerola said. "The other kids hated you!" She giggled. "But that's the point, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Moon nodded. "It's...uh..."

"You don't need to explain it to me." Acerola assured her. "If that's what you need to do to be Champion, then that's what you need to do. I don't think visiting Aether House will be a good idea, but at least they'll be motivated."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"It's just..." Moon frowned. "They won't copy it. Will they? I don't want to make bullies." That was the last thing she wanted anyone to deal with.

"Aue! Are you worried about that?" Acerola peered at Moon with her big, soft eyes. "The ones at Aether House certainly won't! I don't know about other children, but they have parents, and Team Skull, and many other role models. You just worry about doing what you do, okay?"

"Okay." It wasn't entirely convincing, but Acerola had never steered her wrong before. And she knew more about children than some parents Moon had met. "What's in the bags?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked." Acerola smiled. "There was a little market set up around the trailers and I've bought some new toys and decorations for Aether House. We're going to redecorate and use the old ones in a raffle, to get people interested in helping Aether with caring for abandoned people and Pokemon."

"Cool." Moon said. The fact that their efforts had been hindered by the very public exposure of their corruption wasn't lost on her. Or that it had partially been her fault, even if it had been for the good of Pokemon and people all over Alola. "Hey. I know what might be good."

"What's that?" Acerola asked.

"If The Masked Royal supports Aether, you'll get attention." Moon said. "If I battle him, he'll get attention. And then people will be aware of Aether. And they'll want to support it if it seems like I'm against it, by fighting him."

"Ooh...that's a good idea!" Acerola beamed. "We can get a lot more people to support us that way. As long as you don't say anything directly against Aether. People will believe you if you do, because you did expose it."

"Oh. Right." Moon nodded. "I won't." Even in her persona, she doubted she could insult Lillie's birthright.


	23. Chapter 22

The Battle Royal Dome was buzzing with anticipation of the battle to come. Moon didn't even have to look out of the window to know that. The general chattering of the crowds could be heard all the way through the backstage area, in her dressing room, and a little look at the streaming figures told her that a good deal of Alolans were watching. She had no doubt that there would be even more of them for her next public appearance, but she couldn't think about that.

She had a battle to win.

"Good luck out there, Moon." Mom wished, as she helped her pull on her jacket and swept its shoulders with her hand. "Remember that you don't have to stay there for very long, the crowd will only do what you're trying to get them to do, and..." She flashed a smile. "You're the best Trainer in Alola."

"Well. Yeah." Moon shrugged. She had no doubt that she was going to lose to The Masked Royal – she'd beaten him so many times that it was well established he couldn't beat her. Not that she was going to take it easy on him, because that was just one way to guarantee she'd lose in the future.

Besides, not focusing on the battle would have given her mind more time to focus on the crowds of people watching, and that wouldn't have done her any good for the speech to follow. She hadn't memorized anything – The Masked Royal told her that going in with a script would just make her flounder if she forgot anything. Better to have a few points, hit them, and get out.

"Go get 'em." Mom kissed Moon's forehead. She was glad her mother didn't wear much lipstick, else her new look would seem less cool and more of a child.

Moon walked out of the dressing room, past the people helping with production, and up to the door that would lead to the stage. She was already in character, her stance steady and smug, her face unperturbed by the noise or people flitting around her. Moon might have been anxious, but the Champion was indomitable.

"And introducing, the Champion of Alola, Moon!" The announcer called, and Moon strolled through the door. The arena beyond was stuffed with so many people she wouldn't have been able to recognize their faces if she tried, and the bright lights on the stage didn't help matters. There had to be a thousand of them at least. A thousand people, all of their eyes on her, ready to judge her for a slip-up. She couldn't let that happen.

Moon pushed on until she reached the stage, the heat of the lights on her back and the murmuring of the crowd over-stuffing the air. The Masked Royal was standing on the opposite side, his hands on his hips and his chest proudly puffed up. The announcer was just leaving, and she saw a chance. She whistled to him, grabbing his attention, then gestured him over to her.

"Announce me again. Better this time." Moon instructed him.

"Mis-"

"Champ." Moon corrected. "Do it."

The announcer bowed his head and brought the microphone up again.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your Champion, the one and only Champion of Alola, Moon!" He declared, to the mixed noises of the crowd. Some booed, some simply wanted to be heard, and some cheered. She was going to change that before the end of the battle. The announcer looked to her for approval, and she dismissed him with a flick of her hand.

"Woo! Let's get ready to rumble!" The Masked Royal announced, as he tossed his Pokeball with his entire body and a burst of light called attention to the arrival of his Lycanroc.

"You can. I'm ready to win." Moon replied. It wasn't her best, but she didn't have much to work with. She held her Pokeball out in a firm grip, smirking as it shuddered and Tsareena emerged in a cloud of sparkles.

The battle that followed went as well as she'd expected going in. The Masked Royal put up as good a fight as ever, but she was the superior trainer and she knew it. The problem was making sure that the crowd wasn't on her side when she made a particularly clever move. The Masked Royal managed to get most of them to rally to his side, with all of the charisma that seemed to come so naturally to him, and her mid-battle taunts did the rest of the job. The crowd especially seemed to loathe it when she let out a dismissive laugh, so she did that whenever her Pokemon landed a hit.

But still, it came to an end and she was once more victorious. She recalled her Pokemon, The Masked Royal his fainted one, and the crowd's boos died out as both she and her opponent walked to the center of the stage. The Masked Royal offered his hand. Her first instinct was to shake it, but that wasn't what the Champ would do. She looked down at it, laughed, then grabbed the microphone that had been lowered from the ceiling. She tossed it between her hands as the crowd booed her vigorously, and she let it wash over her like so much wind.

It was new. It was unusual. But it was in her control.

"Most of you don't know me. Don't expect that to change." Moon started to space, not bothering to hide her smirk. "Here are the things you need to know. I beat the Trials. I conquered the Pokemon League. I tore the heart out of the Aether Corporation. I beat Team Skull in their own home. I'm blessed by the Guardian Deities. And, most importantly: I'm your Champion. The Champion. The definite article, you might say."

"Some of you aren't happy about that. Maybe you think someone else deserves it more. Maybe you don't like my attitude. Maybe you want an Alolan on the throne. I'm gonna tell you why you're wrong" She looked over the crowd and licked her lips. "Alola's League is new. It needs to make a statement. How does it do that? You need a Champion who can be blessed by Legendary Pokemon. You need a Champion who can keep the streets clean of trash like Team Skull. You need a Champion who's undefeated."

"Know anyone who does that? The Masked Royal? Not undefeated. Didn't beat Team Skull. Legendary Pokemon? Never even met one. The Kahunas? Might have met their Tapu. I beat all of them myself. Didn't do anything about Team Skull. Trial Captains? The same. Anyone at Aether? The same. You see, there's only one person who fits the description of the Champion Alola needs. You're looking at her. And...you're welcome."

She dropped the mic and held her arms out to drink in the hail of boos from the crowd. She was just settling into the feeling of confidence when she felt something seize her by the waist. A pair of black arms, pink ribbons around their wrists. She was being carried out of the arena faster than she could realize what was happening, even as she twisted to see what was taking her away.

Then she saw it; the familiar pink head crest of Tapu Lele.


	24. Chapter 23

Being carried by Tapu Lele wasn't the worst experience in the world, Moon thought, as she was carried half by the Guardian Deity and half by the wind. It wasn't at all like being flown around by a Charizard, but rather what she thought a leaf being carried by the wind would feel. Like the island knew where Tapu Lele wanted to go and was carrying her there.

The Tapu's grim around her waist was firm, but that wasn't why she felt safe. She'd earned the trust of the Guardian Deities while traveling, been blessed by Tapu Koko from her first day as a Trainer, and knew that they would do her no harm. If it had been any wild Pokemon, she might have thought otherwise. Reached for her Pokeballs and had Ornstein blast them out of the sky. But the Guardian Deities were not just any Pokemon.

They soon passed off of Akala Island and over the Alolan waters that separated it from the rest. It was here that Moon reflected on how she'd just brushed past the end of her speech, the fatigue that had already begun to set in was washed away by the presence of Tapu Lele. While she would still have much preferred a hug from her mother, a Legendary Pokemon was a fine substitute.

She cast her mind back to her speech. She'd done well, according to the metrics that The Masked Royal used. The crowd hated her speech, just like they were meant to, and rallied behind him. And by rallying behind him, they rallied behind Aether – who had sponsored the event and him in particular. Good was coming of it.

What they'd think of her being carried away by a Tapu, she couldn't guess. Perhaps it would be seen as an indictment of her behavior. Which would have made things more difficult for her in the future, at least, with some of the plans she'd made. She could hardly brag about being blessed if they wanted to publicly condemn her.

But then, they had a reputation for simply smiting people who displeased them, and Moon didn't feel particularly smote. And even if their whims had taken them that far, she knew that Nebby was always nearby, watching over her from the sky. She might not have been able to care for Nebby like a regular Pokemon, but she did care for them, and they for her.

The water soon passed beneath them and she soared over the familiar geography of Poni Island. She knew where they were headed as soon as she saw the canyons, the rocky clifftops, and they slowed as they came up to the Altar of the Moone. Tapu Lele lowered closer and closer to the ground, headed towards the spot where she and Lillie had dived into Ultra Space, and she saw the three other Tapus tht had gathered there.

There was Tapu Koko, who couldn't seem to sit still for a second, as it swayed on the spot and its head twitched up with their arrival. There was Tapu Bulu, who floated solid and stoic, and noticed their presence with little more than a ring of its bell. And finally, there was Tapu Fini, who carried with it a cloak of fog that stretched out from its shoulders to cover the ground around the altar.

Moon was placed in the center of them, and Tapu Lele floated away. She was at the center of their formation, and all of their eyes were upon her. But she wasn't afraid. Not because of her persona, but because Pokemon were the one area where she was always strong. She was about to speak when Tapu Bulu's bell rang once more, so loud it rattled against her skull.

"What do you want?" Moon asked. If might have sounded impertinent if she'd said it to an adult, but without a shared language, communication was hard enough. She'd have to guess at their intentions no matter what she said.

There were various noises from the Tapus, before Bulu reached behind itself and tossed something towards her. The red thing fluttered in the wind before landing at her feet. Moon peered down to look at it – it was her flower hat, the one she'd worn at the start of her journey.

Tapu Fini was next, and she threw a long blue object at Moon's feet. It clattered to the ground and it took but a moment to recognize the symbol on the side – it was the Moon Flute.

Then Tapu Lele threw a small object, which bounced before stopping. It was a small plush doll of a Popplio.

Moon frowned as she looked over the items, then up at the Tapus.

"I don't...what?"

Then a bolt of lightning shot out from Tapu Koko, hitting the Rotomdex at her hip. Doll suddenly spring to life, their arms extending, and were assaulted with the crackling tones of Tapu Koko's cry.

"Ah, Mistress! The Tapus are displeased!" Doll said, as the Tapus kept talking. "They say you've been using their names in vein, that you've been making children cry, being cruel. They want to know why you are not how you were before." They were met with another zap from Koko. "I'm telling her! Geez, cool it!"

Moon frowned. Had she been making children cry? It was something that could have happened, she supposed, if any of the kids looked up to her as a Champion, or took her words too seriously… She shook the thoughts out of her head. She had angry Tapus to deal with.

"I'm the same." Moon took off her bolero jacket, which exposed her arms, but most importantly, the Z-Ring on her wrist. She held it up to Tapu Koko, then the others. "It's a costume." She walked up to Tapu Lele and gently held out the jacket, waiting for some form of acknowledgment. When she got a nod, she slipped the jacket onto the Guardian Deity.

"I'm not mean." At least, she didn't think she was. But one thing she was, was struggling to come up with a reason that would satisfy the Guardian Deities. She could demonstrate the falseness of her persona easily enough, and that was what she was doing, as she put her sunglasses on Tapu Koko's head. But she felt that her anxiety wouldn't be enough to justify what they saw as injustices. She thought back to what The Masked Royal had said, about heels and how they worked.

"I'm giving Alola a reason to get stronger." She explained, as she took of her mask and tentatively wrapped it around Tapu Fini's face. It, like the others, bristled as it adjusted to the odd sensation of clothes against its flesh. "And respect Alola more. If they see me, being nice, they'll think it's nice. And move on. But if I act like I'm better, they'll be annoyed. They'll train Pokemon. They'll face the Trials. They'll want to earn your respect."

Moon came up to Tapu Bulu when she realized she had nothing left, that would both fit the largest of the Guardian Deities and protect her modesty. So she simply bowed to it.

"And they'll want to beat me. I won't hurt kids. I won't hurt anyone, unless another Team Skull shows up and I have to beat them up." Moon explained. "The costume is just a costume to let me do it. I'm still Moon." She pulled on the flower hat. It was too hot to wear it for long, but she was making a point. "And," She picked up the Moon Flute. "Nebby knows it." She said, as she brought it to her lips and played a little tune.

Far above them, the air shimmered, then glowed, then burst into light as a canvas of stars lit up the sky and Nebby came soaring down. Just gliding down made the air ripple, and soon they were right beside Moon. Nebby let out a happy cry as they shrouded her in wings that were thankfully transparent enough to see through. She reached up and stroked the gilded crest of Nebby's head, which the giant Pokemon allowed with a ghostly purr.

The Tapus looked among themselves, then at Nebby and Moon, and let out some small cries.

"The Tapus are satisfied, Mistress!" Doll announced, and then the Tapus departed before she could so much as blink. A weight was lifted from her shoulders. And then a realization settled on her.

"They took my clothes!" Moon said. She let out a little sigh, knowing she'd have to order another set, then looked up at Nebby. "Um, can you take me home?"


	25. Chapter 24

Nebby made sure the journey back home took longer than it had to, as they took Moon around all of the islands, to formations in the water, and just generally enjoyed the time they had together before they had to part once more. It was a little chillier than Moon would have liked, with her jacket having been stolen by Tapu Lele, but it was nicer flying Nebby than the Ride Pager Charizard.

For one, she wasn't burdened by the gear. How clunky it was, how skintight it was, how she'd been quite sore her first few times in the saddle. But she could trust Nebby to carry her through the skies by doing nothing more than setting on their back.

But no matter how much they enjoyed it, Moon needed to get home before Mom became overwrought with worry. As soon as she let Nebby know, the Lunala let out a cry of acknowledgment and carried her back to Akala Island. She could see her mom sitting on the porch, beside Tanahashi the Meowth and Hau, sharing a box of malasadas.

They noticed her as Nebby came swooping down, with Hau leaping to his feet to wave with both arms, and her mother smiling widely as she waved them down. Nebby landed gracefully before them, their form taking up most of the road, and Moon slid down a wing. She wasn't completely free, as her Mom wrapped her up in a tight hug that was thankfully not so long as to make it embarrassing in front of Hau.

"Hey, Moon! And Nebby, too!" Hau beamed at the pair of them. "You sure put a scare in the people on the arena, and that was before that Tapu took you away!"

"I was very distressed." Mom said, nodding sagely. "If Hau hadn't brought these malasadas, why, I might have forgotten to eat entirely. Such a nice boy."

"Aw, shucks, auntie!" Hau's cheeks blushed dark as he scratched the back of his head. "I was just doin' what Moon would do for my mom."

"...do I know your mom?" Moon asked.

"Sure you d-" Hau's eyes went wide. "Whoa, I don't think you have! We should fix that, pronto!"

"Okay." Moon nodded. "Some other day."

"Sure, let's do it!" Hau nodded his head as Mom stepped up the stairs into the house. "How about I introduce you two after our next battle?"

"Yeah." Moon turned to Nebby and gave them a last stoke on the crest of their head. The Pokemon nuzzled back into her hand, then departed with a swish of her wings that made all of the trees tremble. "When do you want to get beat next?"

"Nex-Hey, I noticed that!" Hau laughed as he saw the little smile on Moon's lips. "Aren't you gonna be busy with being Champion? It's only two weeks until that speech!"

Moon went to follow her Mom's path into the house, and Hau followed her. But not before picking up the box of malasadas that Tanahashi had been eyeing.

"Yeah. We can spar or something." She offered. Type: Null could use more of the training, and Hau was always a good partner for training. "Do you want to face me?" She asked, as she grabbed a pair of her mom's sunglasses off of the side, put them on, then stroke her coolest pose. "Or the Champ?"

"Y'know," Hau scratched his cheek as he considered. "I think I'll fight Moon. The Champ is kind of a jerk."

"Okay." Moon took the sunglasses off again. She didn't want to spend much time around her friends as the Champion regardless. She'd gotten past most of her anxiety in dealing with people, especially with her closest friends, but still she worried that she'd gone too far or said something inappropriate sometimes. As the Champion, it was guaranteed she'd go all-in on the belittlement. "How's Hala?"

"He's good!" Hau leaned against the kitchen counter. "The way he talks about being Kahuna, it sounds like it's gonna be fun. It's not the kind of thing you wanna hear, though – it's all traditions and stuff like that."

"I could listen." Moon offered, as she took one of the doughy treats from Hau's box. It had been too long since she'd spoken with Hau at any length, what with having to spend so much of her time with Type: Null, with sparring, with Guzma or Plumeria, with The Masked Royal… "If you want to talk about it."

"Oh, sure." Hau rubbed his hands together. "I guess you've got to learn about that kind of thing anyway, if you're gonna be Champion for long."

The Champion wanted to say "I will be.", but Moon just furrowed her brow.

"Why?"

"Because Champions do all kinds of things!" Hau said. "Professor Kukui said that they help manage wild Pokemon, organize the Pokemon League, kind of like a Kahuna for the whole region, y'know? He didn't tell you that?"

"No." Moon said.

"Perhaps he wanted to keep these things from you until you'd settled in." Mom offered, from her place beside the table. "You would be rife with worries if you'd known all of that on top of your public appearances, wouldn't you?"

"I guess." Moon looked to Hau. "Now you've got to tell me everything."

"Are you sure?" Hau asked. "I mean, I know you're not done with the persona thing yet, and if the Professor doesn't think it's a good idea, I don't know if I should..." He mulled over his thoughts with the help of a malasada mouthful.

"I've done most of the work." Moon explained. "I've got the outfit. I've got the attitude. I've done some stuff in public now. I've just got to improve it." Her eyes drifted to the calendar that hung on the nearby wall, which had a big marker right at the center that pointed to the day when she'd make her first official speech as a representative of Alola's Pokemon League. Just two weeks until all of her work paid off. "I can handle it."


	26. Chapter 25

Moon could see the crowd buzzing beneath her. They stretched from the base of Mount Lanakila, out into the clearing where Tapu Village's trailers had been temporarily moved, and even a little beyond. And all of them were waiting for her.

It wasn't that she was suddenly faced with the reality of how many people she'd be addressing, or that she didn't even have the rush of a Pokemon battle to bolster her, or the fact that the elevator was slowly descending, closer and closer to the crowd, like a sword falling closer and closer to her neck. It definitely was not that.

They were only fifty feet away, now, and she could see every face in the crowd. There were kids and cameras, parents and interviewers, fans and simple spectators, even a few Pokemon no doubt brought by their Trainers. They were all just people, she reminded herself, and the Champion had nothing to fear from Pokemon or people. She was the best in the world. Now more than ever, she had to believe that.

Speakers had been set up throughout the area, and she could hear Professor Kukui finishing his own speech about the Pokemon League. He had all the confidence he always had, and most of the crowd were interested in it. A few polite smatterings of applause, or a few cheers, when he complimented Alola or gave credit to its traditions. And then she was closer, just a few seconds away from the elevator slotting into the stage, and he introduced her to the crowd.

"That's right, it's time to meet the first Champion of Alola's Pokemon League, woo!" Professor Kukui gestured at the stopped elevator. "Welcome, Moon! Oh yeah!"

Moon strolled up to the podium, just like she'd practiced. She knew that all of the crowd had seen the videos of her at the Battle Royal Dome, or else had heard about it, but none were in the right state of mind to boo. That was a performance, and they were in on it, but this would be the moment where he'd really put on a show.

"'Sup?" Moon asked the crowd as she leaned against the podium with one arm. "I'm the Champ. I came here from Kanto less than a year ago. Didn't even know the Pokemon League was a thing. But I was here. And I always wanted to train Pokemon, so. I did that." There were far too many intimate details of her private life in her journey, but she could avoid them if she kept it brief. "I got my first Pokemon from Kahuna Hala. Probably the best thing he's ever done."

She smirked a little, partially because of her persona, partially because of the muttering it earned from the crowd. She could even see Hala off to the side, with the other Kahunas as well as the Trial Captains. He furrowed his bushy brow, just his part of the theater.

"From there, I beat everyone. Me and my Pokemon. From Trial Captains, to Kahunas, to Team Skull and Ultra Beasts. There's no one else who could have done that. Just me and my Pokemon. Then I found out about what Kukui was doing. The Elite Four, the role of Champion. And I thought, finally! A title worthy of the effort. Being the best doesn't mean anything if nobody knows it. Then, after a long bunch of battles, I sat on my throne and it was like...finally. This is where I'm meant to be."

She'd hit most of her points. She'd talked about her origins, what her journey was like, how good it felt to be acknowledged as a Champion.

"So what do I think of the Pokemon League?" Moon tapped her chin. "It's cool. The Trials make people work hard. The Elite Four gives the best of them a challenge. And the people who survive them? They get to battle me. It's an honor most people won't ever get. And if you think that you can...you know where I am." She pointed a finger straight up, up Mount Lanakila, up to the seat of the Champion.

The crowd applauded. The purpose of the speech was to talk about how important the Pokemon League was, built it up, more than making people hate her persona. Although she was confident it would. She'd be annoyed by whoever said what she had.

"We've still got some time left, so let's take some questions, yeah!" Professor Kukui said, as he stepped up to the podium beside Moon. "Let's take one from...you there, with the glasses!" He pointed at a reporter in the crowd.

"Moon," The man began.

"Nope." Moon interrupted. "I'm the Champion. Remember that. Next question."

"Champion Moon," The next reporter began. "There have been rumors about your involvement with the heirs to the Aether Foundation and how they affect your position as champion. Have you anything to say on your relationship with them?"

"Yeah." Moon nodded. "There are four things." She held up her hand to count them off. "None. Of. Your. Business. Next question."

The microphone was handed to another reporter, one dressed in as fine a suit as one could buy.

"Champion Moon, just recently you attended an interview with Pokestyles Magazine at The Bloom Sickle Bowls restaurant in Konikoni City and reportedly left the establishment before the bill was paid. What do you have to say about these allegations?"

"The Champ has no memory of that." Moon answered. "Next question." She was beginning to like how wary the reporters were getting of dealing with her questions. If their reports were colored to represent her as rude, all the better for making everyone else believe it.

The next reporter cleared her throat before speaking in a surprisingly soft voice. "Champion Moon, there have been concerns bout the attitude you've displayed in various instances over the last few weeks. What would you say to those who believe your attitude to be ill-fitting of a Champion?"

Moon smirked behind her mask. "Let me ask you something. Who was it that conquered every last one of the trials in Alola? Who stomped the Kahunas into the dirt every time she met them? Who is the most recent, most successful, Island Challenge Champion? Spoiler: You're looking at her. Not good enough for you? Let's keep going."

"Who was it that became the first, and if I have anything to say about it, only, Pokemon League Champion in Alola? Moon. Who discovered the disease at the heart of the Aether Foundation and cut it out before it spread to the rest of these islands? Me. Who's walked across every inch of Alola, defeated every Pokemon that crossed her path, and found every little secret in every nook and cranny? Me!"

"More? I've got you covered. When Team Skull were running riot over Alola, vandalizing everything in sight, stealing Pokemon, terrorizing people in their homes, where were the Kahunas? What were they doing? What about the Trial Captains? They helped out here and there, but it wasn't them who took Team Skull off the streets. It wasn't them who defeated Guzma in the heart of his territory. It wasn't them who walked into Po Town and took it back for the people. Who was it? That's right, it's ya girl – Moon!"

"And one thing, just one little thing, oh, but it's a good one – I'm not just the Island Challenge Champion, the Pokemon League Champion, the Savior of Aether, the Scourge of Team Skull, the Pokemon Master, I'm the girl who's got the blessing of the guardian deities! Tapu Lele, Tapu Koko, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini. I've met them all, and they all loved me, just like all of you should. As a matter of fact – you're gonna."

"From now on, I'm not just your champion, I'm the Kahuna of Alola. The whole damn place. If you want to hurt it, you're gonna have to go through me. If you have a problem with my attitude, you're gonna have to conquer the Trials, the Kahunas, and my Elite Four, then maybe, maybe, I'll give you the time to question me before I send you crying back to your parents." Moon shook her head. "And now you've gone and annoyed me, so...I'm outta here." She said, then slammed the button to send the elevator back up and smiled to herself as the reporters yelled out their questions in the hope of a last-second answer.

Moon thought she was going to be a very, very good Champion.


	27. Epilogue

The throne room was as beautiful as ever. Moon had only seen it a few times, despite the months spent as Champion. The best was the first time, when she defeated the Elite Four and Professor Kukui to become the first there ever was. There had been a couple of challengers since then, and both of them fought well, but neither were able to beat her.

That day, she'd woken up with a notification that another Trainer was getting ready to challenge the Elite Four, and that meant she had to be ready to step into the Champion's room and defend her title. The waiting wasn't quite as glamorous as she'd have liked, or what it seemed like for the challenger. There was a side-room and a side-entrance to the Champion's room, where she could get dressed for the cameras, eat some catering, and not have to worry until the challenger got through three of the Elite Four.

And this one had, so she'd checked her outfit, her Pokeballs, and headed up to her throne. She decided to recline into it with Silvally at her side – the Pokemon had evolved not long go, and she'd finally found a name it was content with: Artorias.

Thus far, her persona was doing wonders for her and for the newly-established Pokemon League. People hated her like they were meant to, which meant more people were taking on the Island Challenge, in the hopes of eventually facing and defeating her. She was by far the most notorious Champion in the news, with even Champions from other Regions mentioning and talking about battling her.

Professor Kukui would be the one to sort out those challenges, if they ever did happen. It wasn't that she couldn't face them in her persona – that would probably be part of the build-up to their battles regardless – but considering she'd watched some of their battles, learned strategies from them and older Champions, she was that much more anxious about meeting them face-to-face.

As far as her friends went, Hau was doing well in his training as Kahuna of Melemele Island. Guzma and Plumeria were doing a decent job in managing the remnants of Team Skull, making reparations for their crimes, although Guzma's temper wasn't much better than it had been. Mom had been very supportive of her efforts, including the times when the hatred of the crowd managed to get through to her, even if she hadn't imagined her daughter becoming famous for being a smug jerk.

And then there was Lillie. The scientist known as Bill had been able to cure Lusamine of her Ultra Space illness, which meant she could continue her Pokemon journey without that worry constantly at the back of her mind. If anything, Lusamine had been able to help, with her own talents in Pokemon Training. Although Moon wished she'd be there to help, the mother and daughter relationship had apparently begun the healing process.

Moon had even had a few conversations with Lusamine. They weren't nearly so pleasant as their first ones, nor as antagonistic as their last. She'd even considered using her Champion persona, but for Lillie's sake, she hadn't. Their conversations had been concise, although she reluctantly had to admit that Lusamine did seem thankful for how Moon had been there for Lillie in her most troubling times. And she'd apologized for being part of the reason Moon's hair had now turned completely white.

A little alarm pulled Moon out of her memory reverie, alerting her to the cameras that would soon be turned on to capture the Championship battle. She sprawled out in her chair, put on her most insufferable smirk, and waited for her challenger. She could hear someone moving up the stairs. She could hear the music that announced their presence. If she listened closely, she could even hear her heart pumping in anticipation of a true battle.

And there was her challenger.

Her hair was golden against the crystal peaks of Mount Lanakila. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds. And she was smiling, the most beautiful smile that Moon had ever seen. She was a little taller than when they'd last met, her walk a little more confident.

"L-Lillie!" Moon gaped as she pulled herself out of her throne.

"I'm here to challenge you!" Lillie plucked a Pokeball off of her belt. "I hope you're ready, because I'm going to give it my all!"

Moon wanted to run across the room and hold Lillie tight. She wanted to give her all the kisses they'd missed while an ocean separated them. She wanted to hear everything and tell everything and spend the rest of the day together.

But for the moment, she had to be the Champ.

"Tch." Moon turned her smile back into a smirk and put a hand on her hip. "Just for that, I'm not gonna take it easy on you." She whistled for Artorias to step forward, its paws clacking on the ground as it walked in front of her.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Lillie steeled her gaze and tossed her Pokeball into the air. "Let's go, Luna!"


End file.
